Staying Alive

We have been looking at paint color samples for the inside. I want an off white because our house is dark. It does not get a lot of natural sunlight so I feel we need a lighter color to help brighten it up. The Grumpy Ol Gazer wants to go with a grey. I won with a Snowy Pine (off white).

We had bags and bags of clothes and house hold items for donation. The truck finally came around and picked it all up so our bedroom feels a lot less cluttered now!

The Grumpy Ol Gazer finally got his new Bi Pap machine so he is sleeping better at nights. I thought I would too because the soft hum of the machine would just lull me into a sweet sleep but this new machine doesn't hum, whistle or even say BOO! It is totally quite!

I happened to find several quilt kits at Wash Tub Quilts on Etsy. I loved the designs and the kits help me by providing most of the fabric I will need instead of making multiple trips to the fabric store.

Barn Dance

Pocket Change

I love the new Words To Live By collection by Heartstring Samplery. Beth has hit another home run! She has Love, Faith, Hope and Justice. I know I said I would stitch from stash this year but I think this collection would make a beautiful grouping that will look perfect on my one empty wall plus they will make great infusion projects over the year! I found mine in the Heartstring Samplery shop over at Etsy.

As I promised, here are several house blocks from the exchange I was in. Talk about some talented ladies!!

We decided that we want a walkway (preferably cement) going from the driveway around back to the deck. It is so much easier to bring groceries in by the back door but that backyard gets so soggy when we have a lot of rain and is impossible to walk across!  A walkway is just what we need - like the one in front but in the back too! I will be anxious to see if anything comes of it.

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Sew What!

January and February always seem like they are so slow! Maybe it is the after Christmas effect or the anticipation of waiting for Spring.

Look what followed me home! It isn't fancy and doesn't have all the bells and whistles or jump through hoops like a lot of the grander machines but it is all I need. The aqua color gives it a vintage look too. I still have my white Brother sewing machine and it still works great but it never hurts to have a back up. Even though I remember my moma and my Grandma sewing on old Singer machines (plus I learned to sew on a Singer years ago), I have trusted Brother sewing machines for years.

An old quilt folk lore says that many people purposely put a mistake somewhere in their quilt while making it. This is to remind them that they are not perfect and to keep them humble in God's eyes. I usually get at least one mistake without even trying!

My late Christmas present has been ordered. I am so thrilled with it! I will have a place/corner to sew on quilt tops now and I can keep my machine out! No more setting the machine up on the dining table then taking it down before dinner! That got old real fast! LOL

And part 2 of my late Christmas also arrived! I just love this hoop for hand quilting! I have been looking for a good hand quilting hoop and this one seems to fit the bill. The Grumpy Ol Gazer was confused as to why I would want this because "you have so many hoops now"! LOL Yes, I do but they are for cross stitching! Big Difference! LOL.

I have a confession to make. I did something really stupid when I was quilting several years ago. When I began to feel overwhelmed by it all, I should have just sorted through my stash and put away the fabrics I did not want to use right then. Instead I just tossed everything! Well, just about everything. All my patterns. A lot of my fabrics. What was I thinking!!! So I am starting from scratch again with some supplies but this time I will keep it under control much better!

Luckily, I was able to find my cutting mat, rotary cutters and several rulers while cleaning out   the closet so not all was lost but between us, I could probably use a new cutting mat!

Here is another row by row quilt. I love all quilts but these are so much fun to make!

Lori over at Bee in My Bonnet is having a great Vintage Block SAL!  Check it out. She is sharing some great blocks that had belonged to her Grandmother.

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Pot of Gold

The Grumpy Ol Gazer and I decided that we needed to get busy and clean out a lot of the stuff that has been cluttering up our closets and drawers for years. It has been a big task and one we are not going to hurry with. Cleaning out these spaces is like taking a walk down memory lane! We each would find little treasures from years ago that had been safely tucked away (then forgotten about). We are able to get rid of a lot of things that we no longer need or want while making new spaces for other items.

While cleaning out my closet I found some quilt tops that I had obviously just put away before finishing them off! I found three row quilt tops from exchanges I had participated in and I found some house blocks from another exchange I had taken part in. I will be sharing these over the month!

First of all is a Christmas row by row quilt. This is the top half.

This is the bottom half.

I also found several finished cross stitch pieces that I thought were gone forever! I had especially been looking for this piece by Plum Street Samplers. I see a Christmas pillow for next year!

I saw that LHN is coming out with a new series. I know that I said I had enough but I really really like this series. I am not going to make any commitments yet but I do keep looking at it and drooling.

I fell in love with this free block over at Quilters Cache. It is called Hard Times and is a 10 inch block. I automatically knew how I would put it together. I will save that for a later surprise just in case I can't find the fabrics I need for it. Or in case I change my mind about the colors.

I found several other designs I like but I am going to take them one at a time and enjoy the hand quilting on each one. I sure wish my Grandma was here so we could talk about quilting; gardening flowers and vegetables And even though I was not big on playing the piano, I sure loved to sit beside her while she played and sing those hymns after dinner!

This will be the year of home improvements around here. We have been putting things off for too many years and now we really need to get busy! Instead of listing all the things we hope to get done, I just post them as they happen!

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

It's A New Year!

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a safe New Year! I have a few new items to share! I was lucky to get some fun gifts over the holidays.

I was thrilled to get this quilt book! It has a lot of great quilt patterns that are drool worthy but I have already picked out 3 designs from the book that go to the head of my "to do" list.

This is a fun pattern. I have mentioned before that I love row quilts and Christmas quilts. Two loves in one pattern!

So far, it has been a rainy cold Winter. It certainly feels a lot colder when the heat goes out! Brrrrr. A little mouse climbed into our unit outside to keep warm and built a nest. I guess all the noise and moving parts were too much for him so he left but the nest stayed and slowly worked into the moving parts and locked them up! Unfortunately this happened on the weekend before Christmas so a lot of places were already closed for the long holiday weekend. We had to wait and shiver several days so the part could be ordered and fixed all because of a little tiny mouse!! We are already making some plans for warmer weather! Maybe a tour of state (and out of state) quilt and cross stitch shops!

Just like with my Chicken and Dumplings, I had been on a search for the perfect Chicken Pot Pie recipe. The first one I tried was awful! That recipe was trashed. The second recipe was better but was still not THE one. I found a third recipe that looked like it would be it. I tried it and (yahoo, kicking my heels together) I had found a winner winner chicken pot pie dinner! This is the ONLY chicken pot pie recipe in my recipe book now. Sorry I do not have a picture but it goes really fast! A good chilly night dinner with a salad.

Preheat the oven to 430. Use a 9 inch deep dish pie plate.

2.5 cups of shredded chicken

1 can of Veg-all

a handful of pearl onions

Put these in the pie plate and mix. In a small pot, mix 1/4 c. melted butter, 1 teaspoon of flour (I use a pinch more), a teaspoon of Thyme. Let this blend together then slowly wisk in 14 oz of chicken broth and a chicken boullion cube. Stir constantly until thickened (about 2 minutes) and pour over chicken and veg-all. Cover with a 9 inch pie crust and make 3-4 slits in it. Bake until brown

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!

Another Year Older

I had another birthday come and go this month. I have always loved being a December baby. It has just always felt like all the lights and hub-bub made my birthday even more special. I celebrated by spending a nice relaxing day with my husband (who always takes vacation at this time of year). What did I get?

A new journal to start the New Year with

The quilt kit pictured in my last post. Bubblegum and Chocolate from Private Source Quilting on Etsy. Be still my heart!!

Every year I buy myself a new coffee mug as a Happy Birthday to Me gift

And a nice dinner at the local steakhouse.

It is time to get my infusion project rounded up and get a head start on it. I will try to get to that before January 1st. I hope everyone has a wonderful Merry Christmas!

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

All I Want For Christmas!

I know I have missed several weeks of posting on my blog but as we all know, this is a busy time of year!  I really don't have a lot of progress pictures to share but I do have pictures of items I hope to start on around the first of year.

I have been bitten by a crafty little bug called QUILTING. I did some quilting some years back and enjoyed it a lot but I became overwhelmed with all of the stacks of fabrics that just got bigger and bigger!  

I have no intention of stopping my cross stitching. After all, I have to have something to work on during infusions! Besides, cross stitch has always been my first love but quilting did run a close second!  I just want to be to do both! My perfect world!

This is a picture of a quilt kit I found on Etsy called Bubblegum and Chocolate! I love the colors in it!

This is a free Christmas quilt pattern I found online. It is called Pinwheels and Patchwork! Who doesn't love a cozy Christmas quilt!

But first, before I can begin to quilt again, I have to set up an area to keep my supplies and sewing machine on. I really don't have a lot of free space but I saw this idea on Pinterest. I like it and I think I have just the place for it. Now we have to out and look for this furniture!

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Slow and Steady

Here is a progress picture of Independent Mind. I finished off another section yesterday afternoon. I haven't been able to stitch as much as I would like in the evening since the wall lamp that I use as my stitching light broke. I hope to find one to replace it very soon.

Our local library called to let me know that a quilting book (with a pattern that I love) was recently returned so they are holding it for me to come pick up. I will probably do that today!

Be sure to read the April 18th post and sign up for the giveaway!

This is a short post with not alot of exciting news but I am happy if things roll along nice and steady. Thanks so much for stopping by to visit! Your comments mean the world to me! Have a wonderful weekend!

Monday Morning

Our weekend was going to be full of our usual errands and running around but somehow we got off schedule and nothing much was accomplished on day 1. It wasn't a total waste though because I picked up several quilting magazines, JCS came in the mail along with one of my backordered designs (Seek Joy in Everything by NFF).

There was no stitching over the weekend as I decided my hands deserved a break (especially when I noticed some minor swelling). I am farther along than I had anticipated on Independent Mind so I don't feel bad about taking a little time away from it. I did get my sewing machine set up along with my cutting board set in place. I found some older cut triangles in a bag and decided to sew a few together.

A trip to the fabric store was in order for the second weekend in a row! For now I am working on collecting fabrics for several quilt tops I have in mind.

I played around on my blog again moving the new quilting blogs to their very own section. Just scroll on down to see it. Of course many of the gals in the Stitchers Plus section do quilting, knitting, rug hooking and more. That's what the Plus stands for! Stitching plus more. Wasn't that an interesting piece of trivia for the day! lol.

After the storms we had on Thursday night, the weather has cooled back down to normal Spring temperatures and the pollen was washed away! I have never never seen it so bad. You see it coming off the trees like thick smoke!

By now I have usually gotten outside with my sleeves pulled up working in the yard. Cleaning up from the winter months and making everything look somewhat better for the warmer months. I haven't done it yet. I know I need to get it done before the really hot months are upon us but for some reason, this year I am happy to stay inside with my stitching, various crafting magazines and my sewing machine!

Oh and by the way, Happy Birthday to my youngest who turns 24 today! Thank you so much for stopping by. Your visits and comments mean the world to me! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Monday Rise and Shine

Look what followed me home this weekend! It's not fancy smancy and doesn't do a lot of stand up and cheer tricks but it's faithful and loyal. How could I turn it away? LOL. Then we made a quick trip to pick out fabrics for my first quilt top in at least 5 years! Of course I forgot a few colors and other essentials so another trip to the fabric store is on my to do list for later this week! You don't hear me complaining! *big grin*

I made a list of quilt tops and table toppers that are on my "gotta do" list. I am sure more will be added as I begin looking around again! Working in a fabric store is alot like working in a candy shop. For awhile it is a dream come true but you get to a point when you just don't want to even see the stuff in your off hours! I am finally ready to shop, fondle and drool again! LOL.

Our long weekend was filled with beautiful weather! We both had doctor appointments, ran a few errands and just enjoyed the pleasant days!. I also stopped to pick up some more DMC so that I could kit up several more designs! The mail brought a nice surprise and I got Beth's new sampler! I was able to get quite alot done on my current WIP and hope to have it finished up within the next several days!

Thank you all for stopping by. I always enjoy your visits! Until next time - stay safe, stay happy and stay well!

Samplers and Quilts

I have been doing some catalog window shopping for my new sewing machine! I definitely want to start working on my quilting again. I did a lot for quite awhile but I needed a break. I have quilted since 1995 and I hand quilt. I have no problem working with smaller decorative items, wall or table topper quilts but I prefer to send out the larger quilts to be finished. My favorite part of making the quilt is putting together the top and I adore scrappy quilts!

I can easily see myself becoming a hermit so I can quilt by day and stitch by night! LOL! Samplers on the wall and quilts on the beds while dinner cooks away in the crockpot! That's definitely my idea of living the good life!

It was a boring weekend of sorts. DH only had one day off which meant we had to cut out some of our usual errands and only do the necessary ones. Luckily the weather was beautiful on his day off and we were able to get outside and catch up on some things that had been waiting for our attention! But we really worked hard that one day because the next day we were both hobbling around with sore muscles!

I did get a good bit of stitching on my current WIP. Several people have said that the piece looks very familiar but no one is quite sure what design it is so I will tell you. It is from the cover of the March issue of GOS and is Blessed are all the Needleworkers. As I said earlier, I did make a lot of color changes. I loved the original colors but they just didn't fit into my decor.

Until next time - stay safe, stay happy and stay well!

Tuesday Yuckies

Thank you all for your concern about my hands and wrists. They are feeling better and all should be well (minus the usual aches and pains of age) as long as I don't over do!

We are in day two of yucky weather again! We really need a week to 10 days of warm weather with lots of sunshine to dry up things around here! We get some nice days and things begin to get better then the rain returns with a vengence!

I started working on a new design yesterday. For right now, I am not going to say which one of my kitted up charts it is but I will give several hints.

Hint #1 - I have already made a mistake but don't feel like calling in the frogs!
Hint #2 - I have made a lot of color changes!
Hint #3 - This design is from one of the stitching magazines.
Hint #4 - Design size is 100 stitches by 100 stitches.
Hint #5 - I have mentioned that I wanted to do this piece on my blog.

Oh my! Paula has two - yes, two - wonderful new designs posted on her blog! And they are most definitely going on my "to get" list along with the others!

Last night I looked online at sewing machines. Oh, we already have one but I hate the thought of using it. DH picked it out for me and it just has too many bells and whistles on it for my liking! It's fine for hemming up pants and making other clothing repairs but I just want a simple and easy to use machine for making my quilt tops! I found one I like but now I need to talk myself into getting it! LOL!

Until next time - stay safe, stay happy and stay well!

Rotation Hokey Pokey

Barbara was talking about rotations and starting them back up. I have found that I don't work well with rotations. I do have a few small ones that I can handle (and am taking with me into 2009) mainly because they don't take up every day of the week or month.

1. AAFG - every Friday for the Let's Stitch SAT. Now and then, I will also give this piece a Thursday when I have the time and/or desire!

2. HOHRH - The third Tuesday of each month (also at Let's Stitch). I am really in no hurry to get this piece finished off but I know I will be jumping up and down when I do!

3. Victoria's Quaker - The second week of each month (Mon-Thurs).

4. Each weekend is put aside for stitching on or finishing up Christmas ornaments.

This rotation will allow me to work on my WIPs while still giving me plenty of time for other designs I want to stitch on!

My coffee maker died on me yesterday so we made a quick dash to the store last night to pick up another one so I wouldn't have to do without my joe this morning! I definitely would not have been a happy person without my morning coffee! LOL! And DH knew it! LOL! We didn't have time to go out and shop leisurely for one so I didn't find what I would have liked but it does brew coffee so it will do just fine for now!

I have mentioned before that I love little pillows or small ornament size pillows. I fill up bowls and baskets with them! These are a few quilty ones that were gifts a while back but I still treasure!

Now that the holidays (and all that yummy food) are over for another year, I will be making more of an effort to make sure my exercising and healthy eating a bigger part of my regular schedule.

Be watching for my next give a way later this month!