First, I want to thank all of you who have visited with me and helped me get through this year. While I don't get many comments on my little blog, I appreciate those of you who take the time to stop by and wish me well. I've met some of the nicest women since I started this blog, and while I haven't met any of you in person, I feel like I know some of you well.
The last two years have been rough, but I made it through and so did you. I'm looking forward to getting my life back on track in 2011.
Overall, I managed to get a few things accomplished around here. I've painted my spare bathroom, painted my front porch, started a front walkway, and painted my kitchen.
I've rescued one starving dog that was chained to a tree, taken in and vetted one kitten and one cat, and rescued five abandoned bantam chickens. I've seen Princess through surgery for thyroid cancer and Blair through her treatment for heartworms.
I've made skirts and robes for my little granddaughters, a jacket for my mother, and gifts for friends and family.
And last but certainly not least, I landed a good job!
The year has gone by quickly and I have lots of projects I hope to complete in the coming year. I can't wait to see all the new projects you come up with. It's so much fun visiting all the lovely blogs and getting completely overloaded on eye candy and inspiration!
I hope each and every one of you have a happy and healthy new year!
See you in 2011!!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Our Big Snow
I know a lot of you are snowed in right now with the latest blizzard that hit the eastern part of the U.S. I'm not sure what our total was, but it's at least six inches - which is a pretty big deal for us. It is so beautiful and I took pictures of my pooches running and playing in it yesterday.
I took a chance and let Blair loose with Princess and Zoe. I was pretty sure she'd be good and she didn't disappoint me at all. Zoe, on the other hand, disappeared twice and wouldn't come back when I called her. We stayed out for about an hour, which was enough for my old girl, Princess. Bless her heart.
Hansel and Gretel are so pretty. The cold doesn't seem to bother them at all but I'm still going to build them their own shelter before too long.
The chickens said 'no way' to going outside.
Here's my little old girl in her custom made coat I ordered for her about 11 years ago.
Feeling frisky and running like a younger girl!
Precious Princess playing with Zoe
Blair and dingbat Zoe in the back yard...
Blair loose in the field for the first time!
She was so happy. This time last year, she had heartworms and couldn't run. Now look at her!
Where did Zoe go? I can't see her!
Did she go this way?
Mom, maybe she's over there...
Give it up, Blair. She'll come back when she's ready. (and she did)
I took a chance and let Blair loose with Princess and Zoe. I was pretty sure she'd be good and she didn't disappoint me at all. Zoe, on the other hand, disappeared twice and wouldn't come back when I called her. We stayed out for about an hour, which was enough for my old girl, Princess. Bless her heart.
Hansel and Gretel are so pretty. The cold doesn't seem to bother them at all but I'm still going to build them their own shelter before too long.
The chickens said 'no way' to going outside.
Here's my little old girl in her custom made coat I ordered for her about 11 years ago.
Feeling frisky and running like a younger girl!
Precious Princess playing with Zoe
Blair and dingbat Zoe in the back yard...
Blair loose in the field for the first time!
She was so happy. This time last year, she had heartworms and couldn't run. Now look at her!
Where did Zoe go? I can't see her!
Did she go this way?
Mom, maybe she's over there...
Give it up, Blair. She'll come back when she's ready. (and she did)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Up and Running Again :)
My internet is back up - hooray!
So, did you all have a nice Christmas?
Mine was low key but nice. I went up to Laura's and Alissa' for a few hours. Of course, Alissa had already opened all her gifts by the time I got there, but I did get to watch her open the things I gave her.
She had asked if I would make her a poncho and "decorate" it a while back. I knew I'd make her one for Christmas and it was fun to watch her open it. Her reaction was just what I needed to put me in the Christmas mood. Her jaw dropped and she said "I love it; it's just what I wanted"!! Made me SO happy!!
I found some sparkly little butterfly beads, which were perfect to add around the lapel area. Alissa likes her some bling :)
On one of my recent trips to WalMart I happened to discover some kids' watches. Low and behold there was a little pink watch with a little butterfly as the second hand. You KNOW I had to get that for my Rosebud. She hadn't asked for a watch and nobody had even mentioned one, but I knew it would make a great little gift for her.
Mother and daughter...
Alissa asked Santa for a scooter and he found a little pink one. She was so excited!
Here's a picture of one of the gift tags I painted.
I forgot to take pics of any of the little paintings I made. Plus, I made two little mug rugs - my first - and forgot to take pictures of them before I took them to the post office. I was in such a hurry to get things out of here :( I managed to paint four cards - each unique. Yep, forgot to take pics of them as well!!
We got several inches of snow last night, so I've enjoyed a quiet day at home. I'm exhausted from painting my kitchen (another post). I finally got a small batch of Christmas cookies made today. I was busy in the kitchen all morning making potato sald and stuff I can eat without electricity in anticipation of a power outage. Then I took Princess, Zoe and Blair outside to play in the snow for about an hour. I'll post those pictures tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow...I wonder if I'll be able to get in to work - or if they'll even be open!?!? It's still snowing and at the very least, I bet things will be on a delayed schedule. Yikes - another day without any pay? Sure hope not.
Sleep well tonight. I know I will!
So, did you all have a nice Christmas?
Mine was low key but nice. I went up to Laura's and Alissa' for a few hours. Of course, Alissa had already opened all her gifts by the time I got there, but I did get to watch her open the things I gave her.
She had asked if I would make her a poncho and "decorate" it a while back. I knew I'd make her one for Christmas and it was fun to watch her open it. Her reaction was just what I needed to put me in the Christmas mood. Her jaw dropped and she said "I love it; it's just what I wanted"!! Made me SO happy!!
I found some sparkly little butterfly beads, which were perfect to add around the lapel area. Alissa likes her some bling :)
On one of my recent trips to WalMart I happened to discover some kids' watches. Low and behold there was a little pink watch with a little butterfly as the second hand. You KNOW I had to get that for my Rosebud. She hadn't asked for a watch and nobody had even mentioned one, but I knew it would make a great little gift for her.
Mother and daughter...
Alissa asked Santa for a scooter and he found a little pink one. She was so excited!
Here's a picture of one of the gift tags I painted.
I forgot to take pics of any of the little paintings I made. Plus, I made two little mug rugs - my first - and forgot to take pictures of them before I took them to the post office. I was in such a hurry to get things out of here :( I managed to paint four cards - each unique. Yep, forgot to take pics of them as well!!
We got several inches of snow last night, so I've enjoyed a quiet day at home. I'm exhausted from painting my kitchen (another post). I finally got a small batch of Christmas cookies made today. I was busy in the kitchen all morning making potato sald and stuff I can eat without electricity in anticipation of a power outage. Then I took Princess, Zoe and Blair outside to play in the snow for about an hour. I'll post those pictures tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow...I wonder if I'll be able to get in to work - or if they'll even be open!?!? It's still snowing and at the very least, I bet things will be on a delayed schedule. Yikes - another day without any pay? Sure hope not.
Sleep well tonight. I know I will!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, everbody! I hope you are having a wonderful day with your family.
My internet is down at home, so am posting a Christmas wish from my daughter's home. Hopefully, I'll be able to blog tomorrow after I put a call in to Windstream!
Have a blessed day!!
My internet is down at home, so am posting a Christmas wish from my daughter's home. Hopefully, I'll be able to blog tomorrow after I put a call in to Windstream!
Have a blessed day!!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
A Miscellaneous Post
Did you think I vanished?
Nope - I'm right here, just busy like all of you. Now that I'm a working girl again, I only have about three hours each evening (if I'm lucky) to get all my chores taken care of and work on my gifts and cards.
Well, I've made and mailed four cards - that's it! I decided at the last minute to make little paintings instead of using the cute and new winter/Christmas stamps I bought a few weeks ago. I also painted each of my gift tags and sprinkled them with diamond dust. They turned out very pretty.
I've made three small paintings, which have been mailed. I'm working on one for myself and then I have a couple to do for others. If I don't make one for me now, it won't happen. You know how that goes. And did I take pictures of any of the things I painted? No :(
I was determined to wrap my gifts so they were pretty this year. Usually I just throw gift wrap around them and slap on a cheap, pre-made bow out of a bag. This year, I used very pretty paper and used some satin ribbon instead of the gift kind. I tucked in a sprig of cyprus from my property and with my hand painted, glittered tag, the presentation was beautiful - if I do say so myself. I'll post a picture of one as soon as I get another one wrapped.
Here are a few pictures I just snapped so I would have something to make this post a little more interesting.
What's this - a partridge in a pear tree? No, it's Alex, Patches and Sarah on a branch. I let them hatch out an egg a few weeks ago so I'd have another bird to keep Coco company. She's all by herself in another cage since her sister flew the coop last summer.
Here is little Pumpkin, getting braver every week.
Here is a tiny tree I have in the living room. I never did get a proper tree this year, but I'm enjoying this one.
Check out this gorgeous poinsettia that I won at our Christmas party last Friday.
My beautiful swan with a wreath around her neck.
A stack of pretty boxes tied with ribbon
And finally, a santa wall hanging I paper pieced several years ago.
Now I've got to go make a small gift for my new manager so I can give it to her tomorrow. We're off Thursday and Friday so tomorrow is my last chance to give it to her. Two days off sounds nice, but I won't get paid for it, so I'd rather be working. But, at least I've got a job now!
Gotta run - have a good evening!
Nope - I'm right here, just busy like all of you. Now that I'm a working girl again, I only have about three hours each evening (if I'm lucky) to get all my chores taken care of and work on my gifts and cards.
Well, I've made and mailed four cards - that's it! I decided at the last minute to make little paintings instead of using the cute and new winter/Christmas stamps I bought a few weeks ago. I also painted each of my gift tags and sprinkled them with diamond dust. They turned out very pretty.
I've made three small paintings, which have been mailed. I'm working on one for myself and then I have a couple to do for others. If I don't make one for me now, it won't happen. You know how that goes. And did I take pictures of any of the things I painted? No :(
I was determined to wrap my gifts so they were pretty this year. Usually I just throw gift wrap around them and slap on a cheap, pre-made bow out of a bag. This year, I used very pretty paper and used some satin ribbon instead of the gift kind. I tucked in a sprig of cyprus from my property and with my hand painted, glittered tag, the presentation was beautiful - if I do say so myself. I'll post a picture of one as soon as I get another one wrapped.
Here are a few pictures I just snapped so I would have something to make this post a little more interesting.
What's this - a partridge in a pear tree? No, it's Alex, Patches and Sarah on a branch. I let them hatch out an egg a few weeks ago so I'd have another bird to keep Coco company. She's all by herself in another cage since her sister flew the coop last summer.
Here is little Pumpkin, getting braver every week.
Here is a tiny tree I have in the living room. I never did get a proper tree this year, but I'm enjoying this one.
Check out this gorgeous poinsettia that I won at our Christmas party last Friday.
My beautiful swan with a wreath around her neck.
A stack of pretty boxes tied with ribbon
And finally, a santa wall hanging I paper pieced several years ago.
Now I've got to go make a small gift for my new manager so I can give it to her tomorrow. We're off Thursday and Friday so tomorrow is my last chance to give it to her. Two days off sounds nice, but I won't get paid for it, so I'd rather be working. But, at least I've got a job now!
Gotta run - have a good evening!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
What I've Been Working On
Finally, I've completed the gift I've been working on for my mom. What a labor of love this turned out to be. I'm very proud of the way it turned out though.
This is the pattern I purchased when my sister and I went to the National Quilt Show in Williamsburg this past spring.
Here is the completed jacket.
The entire jacket calls for lining, but it made the sleeves so bulky that the jacket was very uncomfortable. I had to make new sleeves for mom's jacket and left the lining out. It shows in the pictures, which I'm not happy about but darned if I'm touching this project again except to mail it!
I used my pretty copper metallic thread to quilt some swirls on the back and front, but other than that just used tan thread for straight line quilting on it like the pattern had.
I couldn't find any nice closures that suited me, so opted to use one giant button. I found the perfect one yesterday at JoAnn's. Then I couldn't decide on the placement and was driving myself crazy over it so called my DS and asked her advice. She suggested putting the button near the breast bone and cover the loop I made with an inchie. I loved that idea but ended up making the closure loop wider and since it had more presence, just left it alone.
(pardon the shadow from me taking the picture)
I bought a more contemporary pattern for myself, plus a gorgeous batick fabric kit. I'll be doing things differently on mine from what the pattern calls for.
Now that this gift is completed, I'm frantically working on things for the rest of my family!
I hope you have a great day. I'm off to work on my other projects, take care of the chickens, haul trash to the dump, buy food.......on and on!
TTFN!
This is the pattern I purchased when my sister and I went to the National Quilt Show in Williamsburg this past spring.
Here is the completed jacket.
The entire jacket calls for lining, but it made the sleeves so bulky that the jacket was very uncomfortable. I had to make new sleeves for mom's jacket and left the lining out. It shows in the pictures, which I'm not happy about but darned if I'm touching this project again except to mail it!
I used my pretty copper metallic thread to quilt some swirls on the back and front, but other than that just used tan thread for straight line quilting on it like the pattern had.
I couldn't find any nice closures that suited me, so opted to use one giant button. I found the perfect one yesterday at JoAnn's. Then I couldn't decide on the placement and was driving myself crazy over it so called my DS and asked her advice. She suggested putting the button near the breast bone and cover the loop I made with an inchie. I loved that idea but ended up making the closure loop wider and since it had more presence, just left it alone.
(pardon the shadow from me taking the picture)
I bought a more contemporary pattern for myself, plus a gorgeous batick fabric kit. I'll be doing things differently on mine from what the pattern calls for.
Now that this gift is completed, I'm frantically working on things for the rest of my family!
I hope you have a great day. I'm off to work on my other projects, take care of the chickens, haul trash to the dump, buy food.......on and on!
TTFN!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Something I Painted Years Ago
I'm running out of time to make the rest of my gifts so was looking through files for painting inspiration and came across this.
This is a painting I did for my older daughter and her husband several years ago. Every time I see it, I can't believe it was me that painted it.
Happy Sunday to you all!
This is a painting I did for my older daughter and her husband several years ago. Every time I see it, I can't believe it was me that painted it.
Happy Sunday to you all!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
First Snow
Hi everybody,
As I was leaving Gail's house after cleaning, it was snowing a little. The closer I got to my house (I live north of Gail), the flakes were pretty big and there was a nice dusting of white everywhere.
It was almost dark already so I only got a couple of pictures.
The one I took of my deciduous holly didn't turn out very well and I didn't have time to take another one.
I had to close the barn up; my chicken flock had already gone inside for the night. I was glad because all I wanted to do was come inside, make something to eat and then settle in for the evening. Of course, I had to take care of all the inside critters before I could do that.
Now that everybody - including myself - has been fed, I'm looking forward to relaxing in my chair and doing some stitching while I watch my Saturday night Britcoms. I'm tired from cleaning and have a headache.
Before I leave you, I want to let you know that my new job is going great. The woman I report to is about my age and we have a lot in common. She's very nice and it won't take long to complete my training. This job is almost identical to one I had a few years ago.
Enjoy your evening :)
As I was leaving Gail's house after cleaning, it was snowing a little. The closer I got to my house (I live north of Gail), the flakes were pretty big and there was a nice dusting of white everywhere.
It was almost dark already so I only got a couple of pictures.
The one I took of my deciduous holly didn't turn out very well and I didn't have time to take another one.
I had to close the barn up; my chicken flock had already gone inside for the night. I was glad because all I wanted to do was come inside, make something to eat and then settle in for the evening. Of course, I had to take care of all the inside critters before I could do that.
Now that everybody - including myself - has been fed, I'm looking forward to relaxing in my chair and doing some stitching while I watch my Saturday night Britcoms. I'm tired from cleaning and have a headache.
Before I leave you, I want to let you know that my new job is going great. The woman I report to is about my age and we have a lot in common. She's very nice and it won't take long to complete my training. This job is almost identical to one I had a few years ago.
Enjoy your evening :)
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