Monday, August 22, 2011

I am a Winner!!!

I was very excited today to get a package in the mail from a give-away that I won.  Fabric, gorgeous fabric.
All these different fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli's West Indies.  I popped over to her blog for the first time from Stash Manicures guest post that Jennifer did last week and saw that there was a give-away in process.  I think if there is anything that I would love to win, besides a car which I need a new one rather badly right now, is fabric.  And it is lovely fabric.  It is a little more modern than I would usually pick out for quilts or sewing projects but I will be looking for a pattern that is just perfect for it.  Take a look.

This group is my favorite.

If you would like to visit Sis Boom, Jennifer Paganelli's site, go here.
Counting down to the weekend.  Girlfriend weekend coming up.  Hubs is going to be kicking back here at home with the Bug.  Which suits him just fine because he does not like to go away much.  Wishing you all a blessed week.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Sunday Praise

Have a wonderful Sunday friends!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Friday Night Sew In Results

It may not look like much but I did get the binding cut and pressed.

I also crocheted on the afghan I showed you the start of last night.  Did not get another picture though.  Off to take care of some Saturday errands and then hopefully start sewing the binding on the quilt.  It is a king size, it might take me all week.  I should amend that, I am sure it will take me the whole week.  Enjoy your Saturday, I know I will.  Blessings!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Friday Night Sew In and Farmgirl Friday.

It is Friday Night Sew In and I have been cutting bias tape for our Middle Daughter's quilt that just came back from the quilter.
 Actually, I picked it up about a month ago, but we had the youngest daughter's wedding here last month and I did not get to work on it until now.  I will be cutting this fabric this evening for the binding.
 I am also going to work on the afghan that I started for granddaughter number two's birthday in October.
 I have been looking for a new camera.  The colors on all of the above pictures are not right so you will have to take my word for it that they look better together in person than what you are seeing.  Hopefully I will get a camera soon so I can show you the true colors. 

Handmade by Heidi

On to Farmgirl Friday over at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House.  As some of you know I spent the earlier part of the summer outside working in the yard getting flower beds ready for the wedding held here last month.  I did take some time to go to a couple of barn sales and here are a couple of things I picked up at one of our favorite spots.
 When I found the iron candlestick I knew exactly what I was going to use it for.  Not sure what the wire basket was used for originally but I knew I could find a use for it.
I had this small gazing ball from a project that came apart after being in the elements for many years.  I had to add some sand in the top of the candle stick to hold the ball in place.   You can see it in the flower boarder here where I posted about the boarder we re-worked this summer.  I was going to link that past post up with Farmgirl Friday, but for some reason the link I had saved for Deborah Jean's was out of whack for a couple of weeks.  Was glad to make it right again so I could participate with this fun party.
This is what I used the wire basket for.
And for some real Farmgirl talk.  It seems one of the feathered ladies was having an off day.

I do not think that since they first started laying eggs last summer there was ever an egg this small.  I took this carton to my daughters house so the grands could use it in their baking with their mother this weekend.  Thanks for coming by and go check out the Friday night parties.




 Have a wonderful weekend!  Blessings!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Done and Delivered

Finished our youngest grandson's afghan this weekend.  This is afghan number four since last December.  There are two more birthdays, one in October and one in December to crochet afghans for.
The birthday boy.  The family just got back from a camping trip and this little guy managed to get a lot of bug bites despite the bug spray used.
 We also got him a set of Lincoln Logs.
This is a family of four boys and the birthday boy is the youngest.  There was also some ice cream eaten before we stopped in.   There is a few traces left behind on sweet faces.
Well another Monday has passed.  I am sure if you work, you know as much as I, how hard that first day of the work week is.  Hope Monday was a good one.  Blessings!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sunday Praise

Happy Sunday!  Have a wonderful day and remember it is all because of Jesus!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Crocheting, Reading and Swinging

This is where I was sitting yesterday, enjoying the cooler weather, reading and trying to get this afghan finished for grandson number fours birthday which is tomorrow.

 Our grandson is going away with his family this weekend so I have the weekend to finish this afghan and we will deliver it to him Monday.  Ready for the weekend, how about you?  One more day of work this week.
Blessings!

Monday, August 8, 2011

True Blue Friend

I have a friend, my best friend, that helped me with some projects for my daughters wedding.  She knew I was stressing and wondering how to finish everything on time so she offered and I accepted.  I have a tendency to say "no I think I can get it done" but not this time.  She came after work and stayed both times late into the evening to help finish and then had to drive over an hour home.  She is the best. I found a pattern for a small clutch posted on a blog ran by  a quilt shop I had visited in person earlier this past spring.  I am not sure when they posted it but if you wanted to get in touch with them I am sure they could help you with that.  This is the blog Common Threads Quilts, the shop is in St. Louise, Michigan.  We made these as gifts for my daughters Bridesmaids.

I just called the shop and asked if they had the button sets that the pattern called for.  I described the material that I used over the phone and the wonderful lady that helped me said she had something that would work and I paid for them right then and she sent them out within a day.  Look how wonderfully they matched!
 My friend also helped me another evening to put together these program fans.  The one on top is the back of the fan, it is covering the info on the front of the fan.  Last names were used and I expect the wedding party would not want me to post them.  If I knew how to blur them I would have, but alas I do not.

So dear friend, if you are reading this, I want you to know how appreciated you are.  Cannot wait for some girlfriend days out!

I also made these favors that you can find instructions and templates for on the Martha Stewart site. 
If you decide you want to make these for wedding favors, you should print one good copy and then take them to a copy center for the additional pages you need.  It took a lot of ink.  I used one full color cartridge and most of another.  They are filled with wildflower seed.  You do not need to order it from the site they promote. It was rather expensive per pound in my opinion.  I bought four small boxes of wildflower seed from a local greenhouse for at least 1/4 of the price that was offered on line.  I did have to order the small envelopes on line though because I could not find them locally.  You can find the instructions and templates here.

That is all the wedding craftiness I have to share.   I am moving on with other projects and life challenges.  I have some more garden pictures to share later this week.  Does anyone know what happened to Debra Jeans Dandelion House site?  I was going to hook up with Farmgirl Friday last week and it totally takes you off to somewhere else.  Just wondering if anyone knows what is going on with it?  Have a great week friends!  Blessings!


Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sunday Praise

Good Morning Friends!  Enjoy your Sunday. Blessings!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Orange and Purple

Orange and Purple were the colors my daughter picked for her wedding colors.  Mostly it was purple with some orange flowers added in bouquets and center pieces.  I on the other hand was planting as much orange and purple as I had time to add in my flower border and pots.  It was a new combo for me having never used them together in planters before. 

With hubs help laying the edgers we finished the border that I tore up to widen earlier in the summer.  You can see how it looked on a previous post here.   This is what it looked like a earlier in July.
The border has been filling in nicely the last couple of weeks.  Here are some good pictures taken by sis-in-law this past weekend.
 While I was cleaning out from under shrubs and trimming them I ran into some slippery characters.  When they got tired of me disturbing their peace and quiet out of the sun they would move to higher ground.
Rebekah, this one is for you farm girlfriend.
 I have some other before and afters from our summer "getting ready for the wedding" work that  I have saved up to share with you all since I have been away for so long.  Have a great weekend!  Blessings!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Wedding Reception

We rented a large tent and filled it up.  That would sum it up but I will admit the caterer that we hired was wonderful.  She let us use her linens and silverware.  Picked it up a couple of days early and the bride to be spent a few hours wrapping it in a napkin and paper napkin rings that she picked out.  I made paper cones to hold nuts and mints and stuck them in glass containers that I found at the dollar store.  And we floated Gerber Daisies in rose bowls with lavender glass marble thingies in the bottom.  We think it looked pretty and perfect in our out on the lawn reception.  Again these pictures were taken by my Sis-In-Law.  She is the best to share.
I found the cone idea from Serena Thompson's The Farm Chicks Christmas book. You can visit her blog here.
The caterer also baked and decorated the cake.  The flowers were what we did not use in the bouquets that my middle daughter put together for the bride and bridesmaids.
The wedding was at 11:30 A.M. so we had a luncheon instead of a dinner reception.
I only have a few odds and ends to show you tomorrow and then I will show you how my gardens have survived.  The roses did not make it until the wedding day.  Some heavy rains, heat and Japanese Beetle attacks put a damper on that.  But I have been planting and potting a lot of purple and orange flowers that I will share with you Friday.  Blessings.