Finished by Friday - A Little Old, A Little New

A year or so ago I made a redwork Christmas stocking for each of my grandchildren - seven so far. This one is for the new grandson scheduled to enter this world on December 31. Well, it's almost a stocking. The redwork is done...that's almost, right? And the emphasis is on the redwork is DONE.

















Ok here's a problem child, or two. I'm starting the Nice People, Nice Things quilt. These are my first two blocks. I planned to do blocks in pastel colors and started with this pink. It does not show up. Gotta rethink my plan. What color would you use if the embroidery blocks are going to be surrounded with pastel pink, yellow, blue and green?



I painted this shelf black this week. You've seen it before done in a cream that was naturally distressed because it had been through several moves. It blended with the wall behind it so I decided to paint it. Black. I'm not sure I like it. Don't tell my husband I said that.









I also painted some picture frames black and these I do like. My children had given me the two largest frames with some old black and whites in them several years ago. That's a pretty large wall so I decided to add more black and whites.











I finished the quilting and binding on Autumn this week and had my husband hang it above the door going out to the deck. I have to let people know it's fall because it doesn't look like it outside! Of course our leaves don't usually change until October so I must be patient.


In addition to the above I finished a couple of naps, but should have had more. I had lunch with an old friend and my husband and I went to a play in Little Rock. Oh and we painted the cabinet and door in my bathroom. Just white and nothing new so no pictures. I'm afraid if I mention paint again my husband is going to raise his eyebrows even higher and they're pretty close to the top of his head already. I won't tell him the living room is needing .....

I Know You're Gonna' Be Jealous

On the drive to Jefferson City, Missouri to see my sister I got to meet a blogging friend face-to-face! I first met Pat at Bird Nest On The Ground
when I was looking for Arkansas bloggers and quickly found that we had a mutual friend. That's usually the case in such a small state and in the quilting community. Pat does the most beautiful embroidery - her tiny stitches boggle my mind. We had a wonderful visit over lunch and I'm looking forward to other times when we can meet.

Then, after the Great Brake Fiasco when I had my car towed about 175 miles, I arrived at my sister's. Where she proceeded to work me like a dog! We have organized and straightened and decorated until my behind is dragging at the end of the day. I loved every minute of it - you all know that I'm an organizer at heart and how fun it is to decorate a room when you're spending someone else's money! Of course if you're going to redecorate a bedroom and bathroom you must shop. Every day you must shop. But before you can shop you have to go here to order a part for the tractor. I'm not a farm girl, even though my dad sold farm equipment for a living, so I don't exactly feel "at home" on a lot full of tractors, but I waited patiently until that was done so I could go buy this.

Since I have such a hard time finding these I bought all they had - 22. I'm not sure what the girl at the counter thought (I did this in 2 trips thinking she wouldn't think I was totally insane but she recognized me the second time!) but she was very kind. She just smiled. What can I say....addiction is ugly.

Then we were off to one of my favorite places here - a junk/antique shop - where I bought these. Two vintage aprons - you know you would have bought them too, tell the truth.

Here's another thing I love - embroidered pillowcases are reminders of my grandmother, who always had them on her beds.

No, my house isn't primitive. My house is Southern Comfortable. That's my terminology, of course, but appropriate. The black iron star is going in my bathroom to hang a hand towel on. The wooden bowl will go on a shelf in my living room where I have wooden vases. It will be perfect there. But I sure am liking primitive. A lot.

I saw this there but didn't buy it because I can make this in a very short time. But when I looked for these very plain black frames at Hobby Lobby they didn't have any. Where else might I find them - anyone know? I did find this Bittersweet at Hobby Lobby to use in my fall decorations.

Then today we drove over to St. Charles Missouri where I found Homestead - a shop full of primitive stuff! Just look at all this!

I was good and only bought the little round Bittersweet table topper and the Fresh Linen sachet. The rest of this stuff came from Patches, a wonderful quilt shop that has lots of Redwork patterns and lots of buttons. I got the new Quilt Sampler Magazine, a set of red tea towels, a couple of patterns (one is for an old fashioned bonnet that I thought I'd like to make), a yard of fabric to make an apron, a trash catcher (I already have one that I use when doing handwork but I wanted one by my sewing machine and even though I have the pattern, said with a red face, I just don't want to take the time to make it), some needles and a needle threader! What a haul. :) I told you that jealousy was going to rear its' ugly head!

I had planned to go home tomorrow - my car is ready - but the rain between here and there promises to be quite dangerous to drive in. So I'll just stay here another couple of days....and shop some more. What can I do? It's the rain's fault.

Finished by Friday, etc.

Not much sewing this week because of the holiday but I did finish another block from Winter Wonderland - this one is called The Snow Family.

When you get this post I'll be in Cancun for my niece's wedding. Just picture this...posh resort, blue ocean, white sand, guacamole dip, frozen drinks, waiters at my beck and call, wedding at sunset on the beach, surrounded by family. God gives us great blessings and I can't wait to enjoy this one!

And The Journey Begins

Remember when I told you I would start Winter Wonderland as soon as I finished the project I was working on? Well, today's the day - the journey began. I always think of big projects like this as journeys because when you make that first stitch it's like the first mile of a trip. You're so excited and you can't wait to see each block finished and start the next but after a while you're like one of the kids saying "are we there yet?" The more you stitch the more you think will I ever be done? Why in the world did I tackle this? There are way too many blocks! Hand embroidery takes forever, I have an embroidery machine, what was I thinking, why didn't I just do it on the machine, maybe I could just take a little bigger stitch on this part and no one would notice, yada, yada. But for right now I'm just on the first block so I'm still excited, just like a little kid bouncing on the seat and wanting to look in all directions at once. I chose to start on what's probably the easiest block - a long skinny one of holly leaves and berries and vines.




Now why in the world would I choose the easiest block to start? Everyone knows you tackle the hardest ones first and get them done so it gets easier with the others. The truth is (I better whisper this cause I don't really want everyone to know) I'm addicted to NCIS and the TWO HOUR SEASON FINALE was tonight. Knowing it was the finale it was a sure bet that someone would die. Little did I know....well if you're addicted like me you already know and if you're not it wouldn't make any sense to you. But, what in the world are they thinking!!!! Back to the redwork.....I had to do the easy one so I could concentrate on the show. Makes perfect sense to me!

And for those of you wondering about the mystery quilt...you won't believe what the pattern was! I'd show you but, alas, I have not finished that last set of blocks, let alone started putting the blocks together. Soon, but not this week. On Friday I'm off to San Antonio with my sister to visit my aunt and cousin. Can't wait to check out some quilt shops I haven't been to, stroll on the River Walk, wander through some missions, oh yes, and visit with my family. :)

Katie Sees a Snake!!!!!

Picture this. There’s a big tree next to the woodpile at Connie & Larry’s campsite. Out in front of the woodpile is the burn pit. There’s a camper on either side of that. Curled up at the base of the tree is a four foot water moccasin. When the snake was sighted by Fay (Larry’s 87 year old step-mother) she ran to the camper while Connie went screaming to the picnic table where she contemplated climbing it. Patti, Fay’s daughter, was “indisposed” in the bathroom of the camper, where she began yelling “what’s happening?” The two monkeys, Katie and Dolly, started screaming, hopping up and down, and rattling the cage they were in. Larry, being the only man at the site, knew he had to be the one to kill it. He was in shorts and flip flops and had a big sledge hammer and a pair of fire tongs. I’m not sure what he was going to do with the fire tongs but he needed all weapons available. The women are yelling at Larry, the monkeys are screaming and jumping, the snake is trying to strike the nearest person (Larry) and Larry pins the snake down with the sledge hammer. Fay, remember she is 87, decides she needs to come help him since the two younger women obviously aren’t going to do it so (Mom to the rescue!) She comes out of the camper and grabs a piece of wood off the woodpile so she can beat the snake about the head. Then everyone is yelling at her to get away before she falls down and, finally, the snake is dead – Larry, not Fay, killed it. Picture the bedlam! I almost wish I'd been there. Later that evening I’m sitting in a lawn chair between the fire and woodpile when I think….ok, momma snake is dead, baby snakes are in the woodpile, daddy snake comes home to no dinner, screaming kids, absent momma, and he goes looking for her and what does he find but blood splatters on the grass and me. Time for me to go home!

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary is done! I stitched yesterday until my thumb hurt and I had to take Tylenol but I finished her and she is so sweet…I can’t wait to get her put into a pillow. This morning I got out my herb blocks and the Winter Wonderland blocks and the pumpkin appliqué blocks and tried to decide which to do next. Decisions, decisions. I didn’t bring my sewing machine on this camping trip although I often bring my Featherweight. It’s the perfect size to fit into the basket I use as a coffee table and a small cutting mat/ironing surface is easy to stick in the closet. My dining table has an electrical outlet right next to it and an overhead light and windows on two sides so it’s an ideal spot to sit and sew and watch the birds and squirrels. But I remind myself I brought books to read and puzzles to put together and haven’t done much of either. The one bad thing about getting away from home like this is that you dream of all the “relaxing stuff” you want to do and you’d have to stay a month to get that relaxed!

Here’s a picture of a baby quilt I got sandwiched together before I left home this week. It’s ready to be quilted but I just can’t decide how I want to do it. Any suggestions? This quilt is going to Haley Grace, the daughter of my niece, who was born April 27th. The alphabet letters were machine embroidered and the border fabric is Clifford, The Big Red Dog. Should I just stitch in the ditch or try to outline the letters or something else that I’m not thinking of? I’m going to machine quilt it and I’m ready to start when I get home if I can just make this decision!

We’re camping this week. We came with friends that I’ve mentioned before (Connie and her husband Larry) and their monkey, Katie. We met another friend who also has a monkey - her name is Dolly. Katie and Dolly are old friends who, when they first see each other, look like two women who haven’t seen each other in years – they hug each other and pat each other on the back and laugh and talk nonstop. They also pick imaginary bugs off each other, unlike any women I know, but apparently that’s a loving gesture in monkey culture. They play like small children, tumbling around on the floor and sharing toys and food and cups, playing until they’re too tired to move. They attract a lot of attention in the campground. You must admit it isn’t every day you go for a stroll (to secretly check out everyone else’s camper) and see two monkeys playing in their owner’s lap. I have discovered camping with monkeys is a great way to meet new people cause you can bet everyone who sees them wants to stop and visit. I’m attaching a picture of the girls temporarily resting in Connie’s lap – Dolly is the larger and older of the two and Katie is still a baby sucking her thumb.

This is the view from my camper the first day we arrived. It was a beautiful sunny day, cool enough for a light jacket and perfect for sitting around a campfire that night eating s’mores. Last night it stormed big time, according to my husband. In fact, he said it stormed so bad he started to get up and put his pants on! You couldn’t prove it by me since I slept right through it. What is it about camping that makes you hungry all the time and sleep like you haven’t slept in a week? Guess I had worn myself out stitchin’ that day. I worked on my redwork “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” as someone named it on a former blog. Here are a couple of pictures of my camper’s living room where I make my quiltin’ nest while we’re out in the wilderness. You can see I brought my roses with me and they’re still beautiful – God does such good work! I’m hoping to finish Mary, Mary today and then I’ll be ready to do three small blocks of herbs (I’m a little behind on a BOM!) before I begin Winter Wonderland. The best part of camping is that you can sew all day with no guilt, no jumping up to do a load of laundry and no vacuuming.

I Learned a New Trick

Wow! Thanks to my new blogger friend (Marilyn) I learned how to put a picture with my blog instead of on the sidebar! That might seem minor to some of you but, trust me, to me it's a big deal! This is the book by Tricia Cribbs where I got my girl watering her flowers pattern. Hard to see but it's a good little book. I worked on it a little while last night and it's going pretty fast. Not a hard pattern at all which means it's simple enough to do while you're watching television. I would love to hear any suggestions for framing this for a pillow. I use turkey red and light yellow in my bedroom and that's where it's going.

This is the quilt that I have on my bed - it's a Yellow Brick Road using the turkey red and yellow and I made it several years ago but love it so much I refuse to change it out. My bedroom is so cheery with it on the bed!