Dreaming of Spring

I can dream about spring and I can buy some pretty potted primroses and put them in a pretty metal planter but in real life there is still close to two feet of snow on the ground surrounding our home.   I went into the city today to visit my oldest daughter at her new home.  She recently moved in with a new room mate and I had not been able to visit until today.  We went out and did a little fabric shopping  and stopped at the greenhouse/market where I use to work in the office.  That is where I bought these pretty flowers to cheer up my kitchen.
This past Friday and Saturday I spent some time quilt shop hopping.  Friday evening I picked up this pink and brown fabric.

 Yesterday I got busy and stitched up this knitting needle roll for my oldest daughter.

I went on Saturday's shopping trip with three of my friends.  I'm a putz there are no pictures of us shopping to be had.  I am always so happy to be spending time with these ladies that I never think to take any pictures.  I did not buy much fabric on this trip.  I did find a pretty blue fabric to use as the sky for this pattern.

I also bought this new pattern.  The quilt shop had it all stitched up and hanging on the wall and it was really pretty.

 The only other thing I finished this past week is the two blocks that I cut for hubs throw that I am working on.  It is the first time I have sewn flannel and I made a real mess of one of the blocks and had to re-cut some of the pieces.  They are not perfect but I am happy with them.

I'm off to crochet on my grandson's afghan.  It is really close to done. 
Blessings!

Sunday Praise

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday. 

Good Mail

There are days when you, as in you and I, go out to get our mail and find nothing of much interest to bring into the house.  Or it is a day with nothing but bills and more bills.  But today was a good mail day.  First I received mail from my seed swap friend.  I signed up for a seed swap at Prairie Flower Farm and my new friend Camille has already sent me a pretty spring note card with a sweet letter telling me about herself and a packet of Morning Glory's. 

This was very cheery after receiving another 8-10 inches of snow two nights ago.  I will be sending Camille her seeds after hubs and I go to G.R. tomorrow to the tax man.  We are planning on making a couple of stops while in the city. 
I also received the fabric I ordered last Friday.  This lady was quick at the Crazy Quilt Girl Fabric Shop because there was no mail yesterday or Sunday so that made it a two day delivery.

So I did a little happy dance and made my way down to my work room after getting back home from my physical therapy session to finish off the first BOM that I am participating in with the Gum Tree Designers.

I was so happy and excited about how this block turned out I decided to cut out the pieces of flannel for the first two blocks for hubs flannel throw. 

 I think I am going to like these blocks also as long as I can sew them together perfectly.  This is the first time I have put a block with different shapes together.  Hope you all receive something special in the mail this week and that it makes your day.  Blessings!

Sunday Praise

Have a blessed Sunday!

Friday Night Sew-in Review

I always expect to get more done at a Friday Night Sew-In than I can really get done before I am to tired to really do it well.  I did finish hand sewing the appliques on the center block for the BOM that I have joined at Gum Tree Designers and picked out the fabric I want to frame it with.

 I also quilted one of two pillow tops.  I am finding the machine that I have does not quilt very well.  Oh how I would love a fancy smancy machine.

I cut out a couple pieces of flannel for the blocks that I mentioned on yesterdays post but not enough to even brag about.  Today, I need to get some house cleaning done because I have two friends spending next Friday night here and I am not one to clean after I get home from work through the week.  So out comes the vacuum, dust rag and mop.  I hope you all had a productive Friday night!  Blessings!

Friday Night Sew-In

Happy Friday everyone!  I was more than ready for the weekend.  Tonight I am joining quite a few other participants at the Friday Night Sew-In.  You can visit the slumber party here.  Here is the fabric and projects I am hoping to make progress on tonight.  I have already started my hand sewing  the appliques on the block a couple of hours ago and  I am hoping to get the pillow tops quilted and maybe even put the pillow covers together.  I have picked up all the flannel I wanted to use to start making the blocks from the patterns  that I am getting at a year round shop hop, so I am hoping to start cutting those.

Just one more quick note for my friends that have been following my weight loss since the first of the year, I lost 2 more pounds this week making my total loss of 10 pounds.  I am half way to my goal despite not being able to exercise yet.  I do think this new physical therapist may be making a difference this time around so I am having new hope in that. 
So, everyone that is joining the Friday night Sew-In have a great evening and the same for everyone else in whatever you may be enjoying tonight.  Blessings!

S is for Scottish Terrier

The Bug went to the groomer yesterday so it was picture time.  She is never very cooperative and sulks when I am trying to take her picture.  But she was looking so pretty I snapped away even though she would not act her peppy self.  She is always a little put out with us after her haircuts. 

Ladybug Nairn of Braemar

 The Bug finally got bored with me and took a nap.

 Hope everyone is having a great week!  Blessings.
Linking up to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thurday.  Check it out!

Friday Night Sew-In

Hey friends!  Do not forget to sign up for the Friday Night Sew In here.


And for more fun go over to Prairie Flower Farm's blog and join in a spring seed swap with Linda.


I though you might like to join in the fun.  Happy Valentines Day!  Blessings!

Sunday Praise

For everyone that expressed their love for Phillips, Craig and Dean here is another.  Have a great Sunday!

Not Much New

As the title says, there is not much new around here today.  A lot more dreaming about things getting done then actually things getting done.  No weight loss this week. I actually gained about 4 ounces. I am calling it extra water gain and that is the story I am sticking to.   Then again, it might be from the nachos that I ate with hubs during the Super Bowl game this past Sunday.  We did substitute BBQ chicken for the normal taco seasoned meat, but there was cheese of coarse. 

I did pick up some charm squares today when I re-dropped off daughters quilt top along with the backing we picked up last weekend.  I am also hoping to find a jelly roll in this same group to use along with these.

I love, love these colors.  They are the exact colors I am trying to add to my living room.  Cannot paint the walls yet because hubs and a neighbor are going to close off some of the very large opening from the dining to the living room to something a bit smaller so the room more comfy for me.  I am use to very small rooms because we lived in a bungalow before this house.  I actually lived in that same house for 28 years.  So these really large open rooms just feel strange to me. 
But I have gotten off subject haven't I?   I bought the charm squares to use as appliques in the BOM that I talked about a couple of days ago that you can also join here.  I have coffee stained the linen that I cut into squares for the middle blocks and I have picked up the thread that I wanted to use.  I found some fusible webbing that I used on the butterfly quilt top and have some pieces ready to fuse on the block.  But, I did not have any fusible fabric stabilizer.  So this is as ready as I am going to be tonight.

 I was really excited to start the hand stitching but it will have to wait until tomorrow when I get back from the city or possibly until Sunday afternoon because my wonderful hubs is taking me to a Valentines dinner at church tomorrow evening.  Hoping to find a new dress tomorrow and a few needed items for projects and be home in time to get all gussied up for my date.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.  Blessings!

Ramblings

I have gone from posting everyday for a month to only posting about twice a week.  That was not the plan and I would like to find a happy medium so I am going to try at least to post every other day.
I went to the new physical therapist yesterday and my back is rebelling and I am thinking of rebelling also.   This is the third group I have been sent to I am hoping for a miracle I truly am.
As for projects, I have been carrying my supplies up and down the steps because my work area has been so cold.  Hubs has a heater in the den and I had one in my work area but lent it to number three daughter to use in our granddaughters room for added warmth.  My work area is in the walk out and it gets so cold in the winter  that is is hard to concentrate on what I am working on.  My wonderful Mom in Love loaned me this heater to try out and see if I may want to invest in one.

I works like a charm and I am thinking it would be a good investment. 
Yesterday after my physical therapy I stopped at Walmart for a few staples and while browsing found seasons 1 and 2 of Moonlighting.

Do you remember this program?  I remembered liking it and it was only $13.00.  Moved everything but my sewing machine back downstairs today and put disk one of  Moonlighting in the DVD player.    I have finished the four patch squares for the pillow tops I am working on.

It seems that everything I pick up to work on I am short something to finish it.  I need to find fabric for framing the squares so I have set this aside.  Hopefully only until the weekend when I am making a trip to the city.  So I moved on to cutting this muslin for a BOM that I am going to join over at Gum Tree Designers.  You can check it out here.

We are suppose to make these blocks our own and I am going to coffee dye the patches darker than what the muslin is.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to start stitching on it either because I do not have the fabric stabilizer that I thought I had here at home.  I did find floss in the colors I wanted to use at the local variety store.

My crafting/sewing friends and I have been going to a year round quilt shop hop.   Each shop is suppose to give us a free pattern for an eight inch square.  I decided to use them in a throw for hubs den.  He has been groaning a little lately that I never make anything for him.  The grand children are all getting afghans for their birthdays and the daughters are getting their much awaited quilts so I am hoping to get this throw done before next Christmas.  I started buying flannel yesterday for this project.  I have never sewn with flannel before but there are lot of manly prints available in it so I am going to give it a try.  Here is what I have gotten so far.

 I know this sounds like a lot of new projects floating around in my head and in my work room doesn't it?  I am going to keep working on finishing the old but I just see so many things I want to try while visiting all your awesome sites.  Do I quit visiting so I can keep on track?  I think not.  You are all such inspiration to me!   Hope you are all having a wonderful week!  Blessings!

Sunday Praise

Have a great day!


Blessings!

My Weekend So Far

Hi friends!  Want to start by reporting on the weight loss.  Last week I did not even mention it because I only lost 1/2 pound and I was a bit discouraged.  But yesterday I did my normal Friday morning weigh in and I lost another 2 pounds.  Feeling a little better about that.  So far around 8 pounds since the first of the year.  Now having that out of the way last night I started sewing the four square blocks for the pillow tops I started cutting out on my snow day.

I have actually almost finished the block sewing this evening but I do not have the fabric for the rest of the piecing so I will have to wait until later this week to work on the finish.  Today daughter number two and I took the her quilt top to our local quilt shop to pick out the quilting pattern.  If you have not seen this quilt top you can see it here.  We got the quilting part all squared away but decided that the backing available was not quite what she wanted, so we went on a little road trip to a couple other shops and ended up with this fabric for the backing.

It actually has so many of the colors that are in the front of the quilt I think it will look really great.  It is also 106 inches wide which is what we needed unless I was going to piece.  So now I will get the backing fabric  washed, pressed and dropped off at the quilt shop this next week.  We are on the waiting list and it is out about 3 months.  But I could not hand quilt it in that time so we are ok with that.
Daughter number two and I both like re-sale and antique shops so we stopped at a couple before heading back home.  I found two vintage hot pads that I liked.  I have been thinking I would like a few of these to hang above my kitchen cupboards.  These are the first two I have bought so I will wait until I find a few more before starting to hang them.

My daughter is better at looking at everything in these stores and found this Scottie door stop for me.  And even better it was marked down from $25.00 to $18.00.  So I grabbed it up.

Its about 17 inches tall and I liked it in front of the newly installed wainscoting, but hubs did not.  I think he thought it would get knocked up against the new paint.  So I moved it in front of a door we do not use, it is a door stop after all.  This door is due for fresh paint and the trim around it is suppose to get replaced so I wonder where hubs will expect it to move to after that?

 Today has been a fun day and I got to spend it with my middle daughter which made it even better.  This daughter is the mother of our four grandsons so she does not get to have days like this often and I treasured it.  I hope you are all enjoying your weekend also.  Good night and blessings!

Snow Day

Yes I did, I had a snow day.  I was unable to get out of the drive and down the road to work.  I do not think the plow went down our road until after noon and my part time hours are during the  morning hours. 
Tried to go out this door to feed the chickens.

I had to back peddle and go out the front door of the garage and truck around to the hen house.  I should have put on my snow pants, but I did not, and since I was already snow covered and I had my camera in my pocket I took a few pictures.

The top of this fence is at least two feet high.  We already had a base of snow before it started falling last night and Hubs thinks we probably got about 10 inches more. There was a lot of drifting from the high winds and some were around three feet.   Our daughters live south of us and they got closer to 15 inches. 

Hubs just has a small John Deere tractor with a plow and also a very large snow blower.  We have a very long drive.  When I was growing up we would have called it a lane.

This is just the turn around area in front of the garage.

So you ask what did you do on  you snow day?  First off I ran my printer out of colored ink printing off tutorials and patterns such as this pillow tutorial from FreckledWhimsy that she guest blogged about at Stash Manicure
And then I cut out 2 1/2 squares and backing for the above mentioned pillow from this fabric.

 I bought these samples and squares of fabric for a dollar a piece.  They all match the Waverly curtains I have in my living room.

I was going to make four of these pillows but they are large and I only have enough backing fabric for two.  I also have set up the sets of four squares so now I am ready to sew this next weekend.

And for the rest of the evening I will be working on grandson number two's afghan.

If you had a snow day today I hope you found it productive and enjoyable.  Blessings.