Category Archives: Sewing

Awake and Ready

Now that the weather is getting better and the sun is shining, I am not feeling as sleepy as I have been. Being out in the sunshine is good medicine and I certainly got a lot of good medicine today.

As I have told you, we are building a new front porch on our house and we are having to move several flowers. Like about one hundred or more flowers. Flowers it took me years to plant in the front garden and now they have to be moved in a few days before the builders get here. My body has had a workout today digging up flowers, digging holes and replanting the flowers. We cut down the rose on the rose arbor because it never did very well. David planted it by the fence in hopes it will grow on it. I am going to sow some morning glory seeds at the base of the arbor and soon it will be covered with morning glory vines.

I have loved our old porch. Many people have entered our house via this porch. My mother sat on this porch and watched our children ride their bikes. David and I have sat out here and talked and watched the world go by. We’ve thrown firecrackers from here and watched our grandchildren hunt Easter eggs from here. One summer our sons and a neighbor boy sat on this porch all summer playing with Legos. I have sat on this porch and timed my children to see how fast they could run around the house. That was before we had fenced in our back yard. I have looked on the porch for packages I have ordered. Sat with my dogs and passed the time. Don’t mind me if I get a little teary eyed when they start tearing it down.

The front of our house is going to look so different. I love those old white pillars.

I don’t know how many times I have painted these pillars. They need a new paint job now, but, they won’t be here in a few days or weeks. I thought about saving one, but thought it would be dangerous if one of the grandchildren leaned against it and it fell over, so the pillars are going.

I got a package from the UPS man while I was working outside. I decided I would wait until I had all my work done before I opened it. Anticipation. I kept thinking about that box all morning and part of the afternoon. I knew what was in it, you see, and that is what made it even more exciting.

I love getting packages like this. Especially when it says this on the side…….

Can you believe I just discovered this company? A friend of

mine showed me some fabric she had purchased while in Tennessee and I fell in love with it and knew exactly what I would do with it should I get some. I searched for it online and every fabric site I went to said “sold out” of this particular fabric until I got to this site. Yay, they had it.

Isn’t it absolutely the cutest? It’s called Quaint Cupcakes. It has a little bling in the fabric.

I am loving this.

With the doilies and all, it’s just so pretty. I know what I am doing with this.

But that wasn’t all I purchased. I have a new designer I am liking right now. Michael Miller. He designed this fabric.

I love the vintage look of this. Yes, I know what I am doing with this, too.

He designed this and I really wish I had bought more than one yard of it. It is the most beautiful fabric I think I have ever seen. There are so many possibilities for this, but, I wish I had bought more. Hmmmmm.

Oh, this is going to go in several quilts. I know it. Looks like old love letters. French. Roses. What could be better?

This is one of those fabrics that can work its way into any number of different quilts and make them special. Do I wax too lovingly about fabric? I have always loved fabric, from the green cotton polyester suit with the matching printed blouse I made in home ec in junior high, to the red dotted swiss dress I wore to the Ruth Lyons’ television show, to the pink dotted swiss I kind of stole from my mother’s stash and made a bathing suit once while she was gone for the day. Oops, got in a little trouble for that!

Yes, I love fabric. Friends make fun of me for saving little bits and pieces of my fabric.

Right now I am cutting over two thousand two inch squares to make a quilt. The smallest square I will cut and save is a one and a half inch square. I plan to one day sew all those tiny squares together into a quilt and it will be a catalog of all my fabrics I have used through the years. But right now the two inch squares need my attention.

They are being sown into these blocks. I will need many of these for the quilt I am making. I love doing this. Fabric just makes me happy.

If you are a Downton Abbey fan, you probably know there is now Downton Abbey fabric. I made a skirt out of this fabric and then I put together a Downton Abbey outfit.

Complete with hat. I loved wearing this. I wish women still wore hats like this all the time and dressed up more when they went out in public. When you look at old pictures, both men and women are wearing hats and they always looked dressed up. Now people wear pajamas in public. Pajamas!!! If you are one of them, well, I will just keep quiet, but I am frowning while typing this. David says people come into the Ralph Lauren store all the time in pajamas. Really?????

Anyway, I do love textiles and have practically all my life. I remember most of my clothes I had growing up from the plaid dresses with big sashes I wore to school, to the sleeveless blouses I wore in the summer, to the blue jeans and sweatshirts I wore when I rode my horse. I notice what people are wearing all the time. I tell people when I like something they are wearing.

Changing direction a little(a lot.) Walking the other day I heard the sandhill cranes. I always hear them before I see them. Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth and hum while fluttering your tongue and that is kind of how they sound. They have a very distinct call. There was one flock and then there were two and then a third flock came from the south. They go up to Camp Atterbury where there is a lake where they land and you can go up there and climb a platform and watch them. I have never done it, but I have always wanted to. They swooped and circled above our house for quite some time. A true sign of Spring.

Can’t believe March is almost over. It’s my birthday month and it is one of my favorite months. I always hate to see it go knowing I will have to wait a whole year before March comes around again. I found this poem in a little, old poetry book I have had since I was a girl and it was old when I was a girl.

Happy April. Easter is less than three weeks away. Bye.

Sleepy

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I don’t know why, but for the last couple of weeks I have been so sleepy. I sleep until nine or ten in the morning and by mid afternoon I am sleepy again. Maybe it’s been this extremely cold, damp weather we have been having that chills you right to the bone.

Last night after supper, I was so cold I got three blankets and laid on the couch with them over me and fell asleep until ten o’clock. Stayed up for a couple of hours, went to bed and slept until almost nine thirty this morning. My mother would tell me I am sleeping my life away. I kind of feel that way.

I wish I could be more like my dogs and not be ashamed I am sleeping so much. They don’t seem to mind wasting away a whole day just snoozing. Bonnie stays in my shop all day and doesn’t move a muscle for hours. She doesn’t care what others might think. Look at her, how peaceful she is. By the way, she and Belle got new beds for my shop so now I let them in more often since they don’t get on the furniture anymore. They are loving that.

It’s not that I haven’t been busy. When I am awake my hours are full. I just finished a Bible study, have been doing some Spring cleaning and have been cutting hundreds of two inch squares for a quilt I am making. It needs over two thousand squares. As I cut them, I sew a few together. I want to have this quilt pieced before hot weather gets here. I’ve been taking care of the chooks. They are beginning to lay more regularly now. They might be getting some new friends later this summer if my daughter gets me the Austrolorps I want. I’m too tired to download any pictures right now, but I will be showing you what I have been up to soon. I made a bunny garland today. Just need to do some hand sewing on it. If I can get out of this sleep funk, I will take some pictures.

We had some exciting news today. Our contractor, Claude(He calls himself Bub) called us today and said he was ready to start work on our new front porch and put in some new windows. I have told you our old porch on our hundred year old house is sinking and pulling away from the house causing cracks in the wall of our living room. David said we had to replace the porch or the side of the house would be torn off eventually. I don’t like that idea. I kind of like to have walls between me and the elements. Another winter like this one with a wall gone? So, we are biting the bullet and getting the porch built. It will go all along the front of our house instead of just halfway like the old one is now. It will have stone facings on the porch posts, a ceiling fan and tiffany like lights by the door. It will have low rise steps instead of the high steps it has now and railings down them so my friends and family won’t fall going up and down them. I have seen people fall off our steps too many times. If we have to do it, we are going to do it right and in style.

So now I have my work cut out for me. I have dozens of flowers to move by next week. If I don’t, I will lose them under the porch. I guess I won’t be sleeping a lot for the next few days.

I am so ready for gardening, though. David tilled the garden and we let the chooks in and they had a ball scratching and pecking at the newly turned soil. I have dozens of tomato plants started and one pumpkin plant that is getting pretty big in its pot. Hope warm weather will get here before it outgrows it. I have flower seeds and gladiola bulbs and beans and squash, plus the rest of the pumpkin seeds to plant. I can hardly wait to make that first trip to the nursery to buy more flower plants. I am losing my porch flower box that David built me when the old porch goes, so I will have to plant hanging baskets now.

Now, if the weather will just cooperate and I can stay awake long enough, I may get something done.

Here’s to sleep, new porches and dreams of gardens. Bye.

Ice Melt and Birthdays

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Isn’t it wonderful that finally the ice is beginning to melt? If it just didn’t get on where one has to drive and walk, it would be pretty. We had some amazing icicles on and around our house this week.

We watched this one icicle grow from just a few inches until it was the full length of our window.

Remember the ice tree I told you about a few posts back? Well, we could have started our own mini ice bush right in our yard. I was going to throw some food coloring on this, but didn’t get it done before it started to melt.

My birthday was this week. I wanted to keep it low key. Well, as low key as I am able. David gave me some of my favorite perfume. His mother gave me a used bottle of this perfume many years ago and every time I wore it, someone would mention how good it smelled. I used that bottle until the last drop and then got another one and used it forever, it seems. I was using the fumes off it and wanted another bottle. It’s kind of pricey so it’s not something I just go out and buy at a whim. So when David gave it to me, I was thrilled. The bottle has been changed and I think it is so pretty.

I will use this until I am just using the fumes again. Thank you, David. I love it.

I also bought some new clothes, two Yankee candles, and of course, fabric for my birthday. At least I used that for the excuse to buy them. I got a Rose and a Vanilla Cupcake candles. The Vanilla Cupcake smells good even when it isn’t burning.

We had already made our purchase at the Yankee Candle store and were leaving when my eye was caught by this cute sight. A bunny and a baby chick in a basket that held tea lights. Well, impulse buyer that I am, I bought it to add to my rabbit and chicken collection. Two birds with one stone. A good thing I always say.

I finished the ironing board cover for my little ironing board. I like to think my daddy would like to see it.

It’s a mini log cabin quilt design. I think it turned out so cute.

Now, for those with delicate sensibilities, I am going to show something which you might not want to see. Consider this a warning. Do not read any further if you are easily offended. WARNING ALERT!!!

I have a thermal shirt that I wear with pajama pants to bed. It got a hole in a strategic place, if you know what I mean.

Since I like this shirt and wanted to keep wearing it, I had to cover the hole with something. What to do? What to do? Then I came up with this(what I thought) was a great idea.

Since I am becoming the egg lady, why not use something to do with that? Huh?

This is what I came up with and it covered the hole nicely, but it didn’t look right all by itself. So………

Ta-Dah!! What do you think? If you have read this far, you are not allowed to be offended. I warned you. I cannot wait to wear this. Of course, I would never wear this in public. Would I???? Nope, isn’t going to happen.

Here’s to icicles, birthdays and fried eggs. Bye.

An Old Picture

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Here I am sitting here in my girly room in my pajamas which I have worn all day because it has been too icy to get outside and I decided why get dressed today? I am watching the snow blowing off the garage roof. There has been very little traffic by our house today. I’m not going anywhere and no one is certainly going to get out in this weather to come see me. It’s been an odd sort of day. Missed church and now it looks like the roads are getting worse as the evening progresses so I know we won’t get out. David went out long enough to check food and water for the chooks and the dogs. Everyone is in snug for the night.

I decided to dust the hallway upstairs that gets neglected most of the time and as I was cleaning out a corner I found this painting. I knew I had it, but had not seen it for a long time and really hadn’t paid much attention to it when I did. It belonged to my parents and I ended up with it for some reason and now that I see what is on it, I am very happy I have it. I have no idea how old it is nor can I see the painter’s name on it. It has a very elaborate frame around it and I would imagine it is at least seventy-five to one hundred years old. I brought it downstairs to take pictures of it, but the pictures really do not do it justice.

Now do you see why I love this painting? The mother hen is guarding her nest from the little dog. The colors are rich and the detail is amazing.

There are two or three places that have been damaged through the years. I have no idea where my parents kept this painting as I don’t remember ever seeing it hanging in our house. It must have been kept in the attic which makes it even more amazing that it is in as good a shape as it is. The little dog has a collar with a bell on it. He seems as startled to see the chicken as the chicken is to see him. That chicken means business!

These flowers and leaves are all around the frame. It almost looks like gold leaf, but don’t believe it is.

This is definitely a brooding hen as she has four eggs underneath her. I wonder whose blue shoe that could be and how was it lost in the barn? Perhaps it is something the dog brought out from the house. I really wish I knew who the painter was. Maybe it’s a long lost painting by a famous painter. There were no artists in our family’s history that I know of although some of my children and grandchildren have shown an artistic bent.

I just love all the detail, the shadows and all. If anyone recognizes this artist’s work, please let me know.

And in other news:

Glad we have Netflix as there is not much I want to watch on regular television. I do like to watch ID with all the investigating of murders and other crimes. I think I would have been a good detective because I always figure out who the murderer is before they tell us. Jack Frost, a BBC series is fast becoming one of my favorites. David and I also watch All Creatures Great and Small. It’s about a small village veterinarian in England, James Herriot. He also wrote books about his adventures taking care of animals and dealing with their strange owners. We are really enjoying it.

I’ve been making ironing board covers. I hand quilted this one one evening. Now I am making one to fit my old wood ironing board. I just finished piecing a small one for this:

My little ironing board I had as a child. I am so glad I saved it. My daddy made it for me many, many years ago. I use to stand beside my mother while she ironed and did my ironing with this little iron.

I could actually plug it in and it would warm up. It never got very hot, but I thought I was really ironing just like mother. Can you imagine children getting an iron that you could plug in now? Way too dangerous! Ha.

The hens saw their shadows last week which evidently meant six more weeks of winter. Ouch. It seems Old Man Winter is enjoying staying around. Spring will be so loved this year. Come, Miss Spring, Come. Kick Old Man Winter away. Bye.

A Short, But Busy Month

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February, the month of love. It’s a short month, but so much seems to be packed into each and every day. The days are getting longer. Thoughts of gardening and flowers and the warm sun on my back as I work outside are on my mind.

I planted some tomato seeds this week. Each day I check on them to see if the seedlings are coming up. The promise of juicy, red tomatoes in our future makes me happy.

The chooks are laying fewer eggs right now, but we still cannot keep up with them. Egg salad sandwiches have become a staple at our table. I never tire of egg salad and it’s so easy to make and almost free.

We have had some crazy weather this month. We have had so much snow this year.

We go from this and then a few days of sun and then snow again. It is suppose to snow tomorrow again.

We have frosted dogs looking in our windows. Doesn’t Belle look like she has been sprinkled with powdered sugar? She is telling me here that it is time for her to go into my warm shop. I think the dogs have forgotten they have an insulated dog house in the back yard. They refuse to go back there. But that’s okay. I like them in the shop with me while I sew and craft.

Speaking of crafting, I have made several needle cases in the past few weeks and this in one I made this week.

I liked making it so much, I made two.

You see, I have this bag of luscious wool felts that are calling to me to make something. I have it in my head that I would like to try hat making. Wouldn’t any of these felts make a pretty hat? I watch Downton Abbey and see the beautiful hats the ladies wear and I wish women would wear hats like that again. I wore a hat to church a few weeks ago and then I saw another woman wearing a hat the next week. We women need to start a revolution and start wearing hats again and getting dressed up when we go out in public. I am so tired of seeing people in their pajamas when I go shopping.

My mother always wanted us to look our best when we went out in public. In those days, girls would wear those huge rollers in their hair and go out in public and my mother thought it was TERRIBLE. My mother taught me to take pride in myself when I went out. If I don’t have nice clothes and lipstick on, I don’t think I should be seen by anyone. I like to dress up. Always have.

Anyway, I would like to make a hat or two or three if I can find out how to make them. I’ll look online where I find out how to do everything else.

I have been knitting like crazy. In the past few weeks I have made three hats, one turban and a scarf. I am working on another turban and another hat. I had forgotten how much I love to knit. Only problem is, when I am knitting, I am not quilting.

I am training for a 5K race/walk in May. Actually I walk a 5K several times a week when the weather is nice. I walked one day before yesterday. There use to be Volksmarches here in our city and my daughter or my husband and I would walk them and get medals when we were through. I am really looking forward to the walk in May. It sounds like it will be fun. It’s called Color Blaze and they tell you to wear white. I don’t know if they spray you with color or what, but they do something to make everyone colorful. We shall see.

We celebrated the Beatles’ fifty year reunion. Well, Paul and Ringo. The show was kind of sad for me as I remember how it was when they first came on the scene.

Here they all are with Ed Sullivan. We need another Ed Sullivan to find good talent again. He brought the Beatles to the United States.

Now I have to say something about Shirley Temple who passed away this week. When I was growing up, her movies were on television all the time. Wee Willie Winkie, The Little Colonel(one of my favorites) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Heidi. Who can forget when Heidi was being taken to the gypsies by her evil aunt and her grandfather running through the snowy streets trying to find her? Who can forget Shirley’s sweet voice singing “Animal Crackers in My Soup,” “When I Grow Up,” “Try a Little Happiness?” Her movies just made you happy. They were wholesome and fun. And her dancing. When she danced up and down the staircase with Bill “Bojangles” tapping each step. Captain January where she lived in the lighthouse with two old codgers. I could go on and on.

Shirley was a big part of my life. I still watch her movies when they are on, but sadly, they aren’t on very often. I know I can watch them on the computer, but it’s not the same. I wish some movie theater would show them on the big screen. I would pay to go see them.

Thank you, Shirley, for making us so happy. For being a lady at all times. For having class in a sometimes classless society. For bringing joy to so many around the world. We love you and you will be missed, but I am sure you are exactly where you should be now. God Bless. Bye.

Juggling

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Right now I feel like a juggler, juggling several different things at once. And it’s all my fault. No one makes me do these things.

I am a creative person loving to sew, quilt, knit, embroider and do just about any handwork. My problem is I love to start something, but I don’t always get it done. Right now I can say I have at least ten quilts that need to be completed. Probably more. One I just have a very little bit of quilting to do and it just sits there waiting on me. Making me feel guilty.

Then there is the knitting. I just started knitting after years of not knitting a thing. Suddenly I am in love with yarn and the working with the two needles row upon row as a hat or a scarf takes shape. This week I have made three children’s hats and a scarf. I want to start another hat. I’m thinking these hats would be nice to put in Christmas boxes for Samaritan’s Purse. I only knit at night right before I go to bed, but the problem is I don’t want to go to bed until I get a hat done. I can knit one in an evening. They’re small.

Then I decided I needed to make a couple of new ironing board covers. That entails making almost a twin size quilt and cutting it down to size to fit the ironing board. I almost have one done. I don’t waste any time when I get an idea in my head.

Then I went to a fabric store last week with some friends and got an armload of felts and decided I needed to make needle holders right away. Today I cut out two, plus a scissor holder. They will be so cute, I think, if I get them done. Lots of handwork on these. I will show them to you when I get them finished. They are not the hand needle holders I made last week and showed you. I bet you are wondering what I am going to do with all these needle holders. I have a plan.

Now I am on a roll and want to get a Christmas quilt completed before gardening time gets here. I almost have the quilt top finished.

Today it suddenly hit me I have way too many things going at once and need to finish a few and tidy things up a bit before Spring. Plus I have been neglecting the pups and the chicks. They demand my attention and I have given them very little in the past couple of weeks. And I need to get to the beauty shop and get my hair cut or it is going to be to my waist before I know it. Plus my “true” color is showing and I can’t have that. But every time I think I will make an appointment, we get another big snow and I don’t want to get out in it.

I need to plant tomatoes now. Before we know it, we will be in garden planting season and last year my tomatoes were late getting out. I had cherry tomatoes clear up to frost last year, but so many of them were wasted that way so this year I hope to get them out earlier. The chooks really cleaned out the old garden and even flattened the compost pile so I won’t have much cleaning up of the garden before we till it. I am amazed what good little dirt turners they are. They have scratched up every inch of the garden area. That is why you don’t let chickens into your garden when something is growing there.

I am sounding rather hyper here, aren’t I? I said a while ago I have never been bored. Now I see why. I am where I think a boring day might be nice. A long day of nothing. Maybe just me, a hot bath and a good book. Sounds pretty wonderful. But that isn’t going to happen for a while. Next week I start a new Bible study for six weeks. Since it is going to be at my house this time I am going to have to do some cleaning. And some baking.

Our Sunday school class is going to a dinner theater and I am so excited about that. I love plays and musicals and things like that. This is a special one for Valentine’s Day.

My chooks are doing well in this bitter, cold weather. It doesn’t seem to affect them much. We do have a heat lamp on in the sub zero temps. They are still laying from three to five eggs a day. I still have to give eggs away because we cannot eat them fast enough. I notice someone is molting because I see a lot of loose feathers when I clean their coop. And it sure isn’t me!

Finished my granddaughter’s book. I find myself excited about reading the next one to see what is going to happen next to her main characters. She is a really good writer. As she matures I see her writing more and more and getting the public’s attention. Her book is geared toward middle school aged children, but she used some big words I had to look up.

Another snow is expected this weekend. Feed the birds. They can’t find food under the snow. I have the fattest birds and squirrels around because they are always feasting. The squirrels just look at me when I go out to fill the feeder and just keep on munching. I guess by now they know I don’t eat squirrel.

Here’s to sewing, quilting, knitting, reading and never being bored. Bye.

Wonderful Winter Week in Weview

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I have to tell you something about this blog before you read it. There is a picture that keeps showing up that I cannot get removed. My husband tried also, but it is a ghost picture that refuses to be removed so when it crops up at the most inappropriate times, just ignore it. Just think of it as the crazy uncle who came to dinner and never wanted to leave. Okay, so here goes………

Even though it has been bitterly cold and even though it hurt to go outside for very long and even though you’d get frostbit if you spent much time outdoors, it was a pretty wonderful week.

I look back and see all the things I did and got done and I think it was a very productive week also.

Every year about this time I get the urge to knit something. I got some yarn last week and began two projects.

This yarn is so yummy, but I can’t tell you what I am making because it will be a gift one day. It has a wonderful texture and is knitting up so prettily.

I have had this pattern for a turban for too many years and decided to try making it. All it is is knit 3, purl 3 on one row and purl 3, knit 3 on the next until it gets to be about twenty inches long. Sew the ends together. Then I doubled it together and this is how it looks:

It is toasty warm and easy to get on and off. In fact, I found myself wearing it all day when it was really cold to keep my head warm.

Here’s another view of it. Yes, I need a haircut and color, but I haven’t wanted to get out to the beauty shop. Maybe this month I will change my look completely again.

I baked eight little loaves of bread that was very good. Sorry, it’s all gone now.

Because it was so cold and the labs were in the shop keeping warm, I moved the shop into the house. I was working on several projects here. Despite the fact I have three quilts I want to make for Christmas presents this year, I keep finding all these little projects taking my time. But they are so much fun.

A pile of churn dash quilt blocks will become a new ironing board cover soon.

Because I now have all my pins and needles separated, I now have to have something to keep my needles in so I made these cute hand needle holders.

This is what they look like when they are closed.

Because cabin fever was setting in, some friends and I and David decided to take a day out. We drove to Indianapolis to see this sight first.

A beautiful ice tree that some people had made in their back yard. They just used twigs and water from hoses with water from a pond on their property and began making this. It’s been a very good year for ice trees and this year it is very big and so beautiful. Their family has been doing it for years, evidently, but this is the first year I had ever heard of it. My friends didn’t know where we were going when we were driving there. They thought we were going to a quilt shop and thought we were taking a very strange route.

Isn’t it a gorgeous sight? The ice tree is pretty nice too!

I think it’s worth the drive if anyone wants to see it. The family just enjoys the smiles it puts on people’s faces and we loved it.

We did manage to get to a couple of quilt shops. I had found one I had never heard of before on the internet called Crimson Tate. It’s a wonderful quilt shop full of the most luscious fabric you would ever want to see. I had seen some fabric on their website that I was hoping they still had that I am going to use in a quilt and they still had it. Dance a jig.

Rows of these gorgeous fabrics. I wanted them all.

There was a wall of Love Indiana pillows. Aren’t they cute? I didn’t ask if they had a pattern for them. but they probably do. They had so many cute patterns and if you like to sew clothes they have some dress patterns that are just darling.

Everywhere you looked there was something pretty or cute to see. Wouldn’t this be a cute quilt for a baby? Have I used the word cute enough?

There was this wonderful antique button display case(not for sale) as my husband quickly learned, but he sure liked it. The owner of the shop was showing him some of her buttons. Nice to have someone entertain your husband while you shop for fabric. He likes to go into quilt shops since we use to own one and see what other shop owners are doing.

This is Heather, the owner. A really sweet and nice person. Visit her shop. It’s at 845 Massachusetts Avenue in Indianapolis. You will love it and she didn’t even have to pay me to say this. It’s true. It was a fun day. We ate at Chick-fil-A one of my favorite fast food places that we don’t have in our town so I don’t get it very often. Then we went to the Back Door quilt shop where I got a whole armload of felt to make things(I don’t know what, yet, but I like to always have felt on hand when the creative ideas start to come.)

Here’s to quilt shops, ice trees and good friends to share them with. Bye.

Needles and Pins, Pins and Needles

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I go through a lot of needles in my sewing projects. I have lost so many needles and never have been able to find them anywhere. One day last week David said he would look through my pin cushions because he just knew that is where my needles were.

As you can see, I have purchased several packages of needles in the past and quite a few are missing.

This is generally how my pin cushions look when I am busy sewing something. Just ram the pins any which way. My needles usually end up in one of these also and then, they disappear.

So David pushed and pulled on my pin cushions, getting bloodied fingers while doing so, and this is what he came up with. About fifty needles that had got themselves deep inside the pincushions. Wow, I was impressed.

He also replaced all the pins very neatly back into the pin cushions. Wonder how long that will last? Hmmmmmm.

A friend gave me this cute pincushion a while back.

I began looking for cute pins to stick in it.

I am a sucker for cute. I don’t use these. They are just for display so I can enjoy all the cuteness.

What?! Where did he come from? Hope there are no needles up his nose!

I got busy and made a needle case. I am not going to put any more needles into my pincushions. I had a little bit of this Mary Engelbreit material that worked perfectly for this project.

I can put my needles just inside the case.

Or on this little needle pad I can put inside the case. Now I will know where my needles are and won’t lose them in the pincushion, at least.

And while I was working with felt and felt the urge, I made this little British looking purse. I love it. I had made one in white for my granddaughter and wanted one for myself. So easy to make, yet so cute. Did I say I was a sucker for cute?

Speaking of cute. The Sunday school class I work in studied blind Bartemaeus and how Jesus gave him back his sight. As the project, the children made glasses. First I traced them on poster board. Then they colored them and put on some cute stickers.

They got to choose from these stickers. Honestly, I love stickers. I can stand in Hobby Lobby and gape at all the stickers for scrap booking for long periods of time. That is why I will not take up scrap booking because I would be obsessive with it and have to buy stickers all the time. I got these stickers at Wal-mart. They had a nice selection.

I had to make glasses for the teacher who likes to fish.

Then I had to make one for myself because I am obsessive like that.

Then I made two of these for my grandsons to wear while watching football.

I think they liked them.

The children in Sunday school enjoyed making them.

One more project I completed this week. More on that later. By the way, what group sang, “Needles and Pins?” Crystal Blue Persuasion. That’s all I can remember about the song. So many of the songs back when I was a girl were about drugs although I was too naive to know it at the time and glad of it.

Here’s to pins and needles and husbands who find them. Bye.

Happy New Year Traditions

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It has been a pretty happy and joyous holiday season and I have enjoyed it all, but now it’s time to look toward a brand new year and think how I will spend my time in it.

Before I get to that, though, I want to finish up some Christmas things. We had such a nice Christmas. Low key and quiet with some rambunctious children thrown in. This year there were two gifts that were special to me. I got a camera which I am still learning how to use, but that isn’t one of the gifts I am talking about.

I was given this darling Jim Shore Santa and I love Jim Shore figurines, but if you look closely, you will see just why I am particularly happy with this one. He is holding a chicken and a basket of eggs!

That could be Freedom he is holding.

His basket has several eggs in it. How cute is that? I am wondering if this is the start of a chicken figurine collection?

The other gift I received came from my loving husband. I have wanted one of these for years. My brothers had one when we were growing up and I played with it a lot.

A ukelele!!!! Oh, how I love this. I am practicing on it all the time trying to get my fingers to make the chords sound right.

It’s so pretty, too. Green paisley. It has a really good tone and my fingers are beginning to get toughened up by playing it so much. I know I am going to get hours of fun out of this and I hope I get good enough that when some of our friends get together with their guitars and banjos I can join them on my ukelele.

Today, the first day of 2014 was a really nice day. We went shopping and I got some fabric. I haven’t bought fabric since, well, since we went to North Carolina two months ago. This time, though, I was buying to make gifts for, what else, Christmas this year. Yes, I am one of those people who works all year on Christmas. No waiting until the last minute to buy gifts for this girl. I like to spread the cheer all year and enjoy wondering how people will like their presents I give them. I have had some specific orders for presents this time and they are going to take a little time.

I came home with these treasures.

Love these wool felt pieces for which I have plans. I bought a new pattern today and it is so cute and know just the person for which I will make it.

David and I ate at Olive Garden for lunch. I got baked shrimp parmesan and it was so good.

When we got home, I grabbed Belle and she and I took a four mile walk. I wasn’t intending to walk quite so far, but the more we walked the more I wanted to. It felt good to get out in the fresh air. I let Belle loose and she ran all over like a little kid let out of a cage.

When I got back, I started on one New Year’s tradition. Every year for as long as I can remember, my mother made new pillow cases on New Year’s Day. It’s good luck, she said. I have followed in that tradition and I made a couple today.

I used this pretty pink check fabric for one.

No, this isn’t my pillowcase. I am going to sew yo-yos on the one I made today and it will look like this one when I am done. It’s going to take about sixty yo-yos I think.

I made a pillowcase for David for Valentine’s Day using this fabric. I will put a York peppermint patty on his pillow.

Here are my completed pillowcases. Here is a quick tutorial to make a pillowcase.

This is for a standard size pillow. If you have a King size or other size pillow you will have to adapt this to your pillow.

First cut a length of fabric 42 inches wide by 35 or 36 inches long.

Turn down 1/4 inch on one of the 42 inch sides and press.

Turn down another 3 inches and sew.

Put right sides together and sew the side and bottom seams together.

I use 1/4 inch seams.

Clip one corner where two seams meet. Be sure not to clip your stitching or you will weep and wail and wonder why you ever started this project.

Now this next step is not necessary, but I think it gives a nice finish to your pillowcase. I zigzag all my seams.

Turn your pillow right side out. Press the seams flat and then press your pillowcase. You can starch it if you prefer. I don’t, but that’s my preference. There. You have made a pillowcase. Wasn’t that easy?

Another tradition my mother had was to make something from cabbage on New Year’s day. It could be sauerkraut, coleslaw or fried cabbage. I made scalloped cabbage. I don’t have a picture of it right now, but it turned out real pretty and is it good. Even if you don’t like cabbage, you might like this.

I was going to show you another tradition I have, but for some reason my computer says no, you cannot add any more pictures to your post. Don’t know why. My husband and I have both worked on it with no luck.

So I will just wish all of you the happiest of New years. I am so happy you take some time out of your busy day to come read this little blog. I am thrilled beyond measure people all around the world are reading it. You there, in Norway, thank you for stopping by. That gal in Australia who comes here. Wish I could meet you all. The British ladies who live where I would love to visit one day. The one in Kuwait, China, France. I know I haven’t mentioned all the countries, but I just want to say I love knowing you are all here. The local girls, too. I love you all. I look forward to writing about this life of mine. It’s not a large life, but it’s a fun, wholesome, happy life and I wouldn’t want to live any other. I’ll be telling you about some of my plans on my next blog. BYE.

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Snicklefritz

So glad you came. Come sit a spell and read about the tale of my life.

Category Archives: Sewing

Awake and Ready

Sleepy

Ice Melt and Birthdays

An Old Picture

A Short, But Busy Month

Juggling

Wonderful Winter Week in Weview

Needles and Pins, Pins and Needles

Happy New Year Traditions