Sew Much Fun!

Let me start at the beginning of the visit. My DS made me the cutest little kitchen towel. She said she ran out of time and didn't get the button sewn on but I can do that. She has a very fancy embroidery attachment to her machine and does beautiful work on everything she touches.




She also brought her handbag patterns and completed the Claire Handbag by Lazy Girl Designs



Her bag - I wouldn't have the patience to make one of these.

An inside shot

Alissa stayed with us for a couple of days and Susan made her a cute little bag without any pattern from some scraps. She is so talented. Alissa was thrilled, as you can tell by her face.


Here is my little Halloween table topper. I took a couple of elements from a pattern I borrowed to make it. I wanted to make a cute pieced house block but had a lot of trouble trying to make it into a 6" square. I'm going to applique a black cat on the right side of the roof and sew some crooked boards on the house. I still need to embroider a spider and some other elements but am quite pleased with it. I'll post a completed picture once it's all finished and bound.



On the second trip to Thimble Pleasures we took Alissa with us. She almost immediately picked out some cute fabric that was perfect for a quick snuggle blanket so I bought enough to make one for her. This blanket will stay at my house to make it even more special to her. I've sewed some buttons on it and all that's left is to bind it, which should be done tomorrow if I don't get side tracked with yard work :)


Well friends, that's the sewing we did this week. My DS has gone back to her own home and I miss her. It was so nice to have her here with me and share something we both love so much. We're definitely going to have to do this again!

I have lots more pictures of our trips to Thimble Pleasures and will post them next time. (I can't find where I saved them!!!)

Have a great day tomorrow!

Some Cute Critters

Hey Everybody,

We're having so much fun that I haven't made time to blog about it.

My sister, Susan, arrived Friday evening and we've been on the go a lot! Saturday I took her to the BEST quilt shop around - Thimble Pleasures - and we got lots of fabrics. On the way there, we passed a really nice garden center that happens to have a few critters living on the large property. We had to stop and pet the goats...they were so cute. And they had some beautiful swans, along with some Canada Geese (one of my favorite creatures on earth) and pretty ducks.




They had several black swans, as well as white.






I needed something at JoAnns, so we headed there next. I bought a few Halloween fabrics for something I had in mind. We were on a roll! :)

Then we went to the State Farmer's Market and bought lots of fresh produce cause you know we worked up an appetite looking at and buying all those pretty fabrics. I mean, that's really tough work - ha ha!

She was quite overwhelmed at the Market. I didn't even think to take any pictures but the produce is all gorgeous and grown locally by hard working people. We had corn on the cob, tomatoes, green beans, cantalope and grapes for supper. Who needs meat with all that!?!

Yesterday was stormy and we got some much needed rain. It was a perfect day to stay inside and sew. I was in the mood to work on something for Halloween and made a cute little wall hanging. I still need to do some embroidery and embellishing and then I'll post a picture of it.

My sister had brought several patterns for handbags with her and started on one of those. She finished it today and I'll post pictures next time.

Today we went back to Thimble Pleasures because Susan decided she wanted some fabric that I had bought Saturday. Wait till you see all the gorgeous fabrics we bought! I've already started a cute snuggly blanket for Alissa and hope to have it finished tomorrow, but by the next day for sure.

On the way home I took her to a very high class craft co-op and she took several pictures there. I'll be able to share them once she gets back home and uploads them and sends them to me.

OK friends, I need to get to bed. Tomorrow is another day of sewing and eating good food and our last one together. I hope you're having a good week as well :)

ttfn!

Company and Quilt Stuff

I'm so excited! My sister is on her way "as we speak" for a week long visit. She's bringing her sewing machine and we have lots of fun ahead of us. I can't wait!

There are several quilt shops in the Raleigh area that I've just never taken the time to visit. Well, this week we'll be hitting most of them. I'll be taking her to the State Farmer's Market in Raleigh to buy lots of fresh, local veggies to eat. I'm pretty bad about cooking for myself but am happy to eat well when somebody is here. And this will be my first week off from helping Gail in months and I'm really looking forward to it!!! Gail is at the Atlanta Market for the weekend ordering fall merchandise for her shop.

Now...check out this beautiful and adorable quilt that's up for a give away at Katie Cupcake
The pattern is from Quiilt Soup Pattern Company. I had never heard of this quilt site before; you need to check it out. They have lots of really nice patterns and kits.

Well friends, my house is an absolute wreck and I've got lots of cleaning to do before my sisiter, Susan, arrives later today. I always let things get so out of control around here!!! I'll be blogging about our adventures and yummy quilt stuff to share with you.

ttfn!

Where's Smudge???

Smudge, my #1 gray kitty, is usually not far away. The last couple of days he's been hiding somewhere. Actually not hiding, but has found a neat place to be by himself.

This is my antique grain bin that I keep dirty laundry in. It's really neat because there are two sections. The smaller section is where I toss all my white stuff. The larger section is where everything else goes.


hmmm...looks like he got into the right side of the bin for me :)





Goofy kitty.....

So How Was Your Weekend?

What did you do? Have a cookout and watch fireworks with friends and family?

I watched the national fireworks show on PBS last night and kept an eye out for my daughter and son-in-law who were there. He's one of the Capitol Police and I thought I might see him, but no.

I worked on my laundry room all weekend and almost got it completed. I installed self stick tiles, which look very nice but makes the mint green paint look horrible. I suppose I'll have to repaint the room now. The tiles weren't what I really wanted but they were the cheapest tiles Home Depot had so I went with it. I still have to move the washer and dryer to put the new tiles under them but ran out of energy.

I got the caulking finished and new trim up. Now I just need to touch up some areas or repaint the entire room.

We were supposed to get thunder storms all day today but didn't. There were a few sprinkles here and there - just enough to make the humidity unbearable. It's so dry here that even the weeds are shriveled up. :( At this point, I feel like I'm watering plants just to feed the deer but really hate to let everything turn crispy brown yet.

I caught Wendy and Tom, my outdoor mouser kitties, on the porch. Wendy was sacked out; Tom was just looking out into the yard.





Oops - she doesn't look very happy about me waking her up...

Sorry Wendy girl!

Happy 4th!!

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend.

God Bless America; the best country on earth!!!

Living With Deer

I was just reading Diane's post about coleus. I love coleus...they are so easy to grow and propagate and come in so many pretty varieties.

When I visited my mom and sister in MD a couple of months ago, I bought some really pretty coleus at their Home Depot. Their leaves looked like burgundy velvet with lime green edges. I planted them in a very large pot with a few vinca and a start of variegated ivy. They've been doing great all summer and had gotten so huge. I was faithfully watering them and amazed at how big they had gotten and it's only June!

Now I moved in on a herd of deer nine years ago and they were here first. I think they are so beautiful and don't mind that they eat some of my stuff. I know they truly enjoy all the delicious things I've planted for them to eat over the years. Their taste seems to change every year as to what they eat and what they leave for me, but there are a few constants like my hydrangeas and daylillies. I've tried several remedies and they all work to some degree or other but you have to be persistent in application and variation.

Back to my beautiful pot of coleus. Yesterday I noticed the deer had discovered them and munched half the plant away. I was very disappointed but thought at least they left me with half and it would grow back out. So I spritzed the remains with some vinegar (it's been doing the trick at keeping them away so far) and came inside. Look what I just discovered... Arghh!

I strolled around the front yard looking at my gardens that are starting to languish with the heat and lack of rain. I'm running the sprinklers every night and plants are barely hanging on. Here are a few pictures of the remains of some of my plants, which cost $ and so much labor.
Daylilliy:

My pretty stargazer lilly and hummingbird vine that was on the headboard trellis:
My pretty pot of portulaca:

Another pot of portulaca:
A nice pot of begonias:


They seem to like the purple coneflower blossoms and leave the foliage. All I have left here is fading pink yarrow, which will be totally brown in a few more days.

What is left of four tomato plants:


I wish they'd leave me a little to enjoy. Obviously, it's time to try another remedy. Of course, the babies are arriving now and mama needs to show them what to eat in my yard. There is a pair of tiny twin fawns I've seen just once day before yesterday. I didn't have my camera with me, darn it, or I could have gotten a great picture to share. They are beautiful creatures.

A Little Sewing

Well, I've been trying so hard to simplify my life so that I can spend more time doing things that are fun and feed my soul. I'm sure getting a lot of good work and organization done but little else. Still, that makes me feel good too, even though a little grouchy.

A few weeks ago I started on a wall hanging from Diane Knott's beautiful book she sent to me. I want to make all the quilts in the book, but this one was the one I wanted to work on first. It's all finished except putting the backing on. I'm very pleased with the way it came out.


And when I saw this little sewing machine cover on the Sew Mama Sew blog, I knew it was something I could finish in a short time. I had to add a border to make it a tiny bit wider to cover my machine. Hopefully, it will help keep some of the dog and cat hair off of my machine. :)



It's horribly hot here and no rain in site. I'll be working at Gail's shop and sweating a lot taking care of the garden plants. I hope you all have a nice weekend and can stay cool.
ttfn...

Scheduling Posts

Hey everybody,

I'm in a rush to go to work but had a nice little post "scheduled" for this morning at 8 a.m. It won't publish and I don't know how to correct it. I've tried removing the date, time, editing it and nothing.

Maybe it will pop up later. If not, I'll re-do it again tonight.

Have a great day!

A Wonderful BOM and Drawing

I just learned from Jenny that Helen has a beautiful new Christmas stitchery quilt pattern and is having a draw to win it! I want in on this so am posting the link here. Go visit Helen and see what all the fuss is about - you will love it!!

Laundry Room Re-Do

I've been wanting to give my laundry room a much needed makeover for over a year. When the A/C flooded a week ago, it forced me into action.

Bear in mind, I used my laundry room for my foster dogs and puppies over the last eight+ years, so it's suffered quite a bit of damage...chewed mouldings and walls, stained flooring, beat up cabinet - you get the picture? I had painted it a very bright green and stamped a paw print all around the room, and the cabinet was a very bright blue. I figured if it couldn't be a pretty room, it would at least have lots of color to distract the eye. hehehe

Anyway, the A/C overflow tube got clogged with dog hair - surprise, surprise. My daughter's dog is a very heavy shedder and he had been staying in there a lot. After the repair was made, I was very concerned about the possibility of water under the flooring. Long story short...there was and along with it, lots of black mold growing! So last weekend I began taking everything but the washer and dryer out of the room and ripped up all the vinyl flooring, even inside the little area where the A/C unit is housed. Then I ripped off several pieces of chewed moulding and started priming. I had bought a gallon of "oops" pink paint so used that as my primer. Then I went over the room with a gallon of high quality pale mint green. I wasn't wild about the color but had it and wanted to use it up. It actually turned out very clean looking and I like it.

I've had fans blowing 24/7 on the floor by the A/C unit and will continue drying the area for another week at least to allow the wood to completely dry out. I had somebody I trust to assess the water damage and to make sure underneath the house was dry. Great news, no serious damage! I've got all the painting finished and just need to replace the mouldings, which I haven't bought yet but it's cheap, and caulk around the light switch.

I know it's nothing beautiful but it's now a genuine laundry room and I like it. I'll like it a lot more once I get the vinyl tiles and new pieces of moulding in place. The important thing is that it's dry and clean now. I can't wait to get the floor tiles but I have to wait till next week. I'll take pics and post when I've completed that.






Oops - I forgot to paint the drawers. You can see a little of the blue in the corner. :)

My Blog List

I've been home all weekend giving my laundry room a much needed makeover, which I'll post about soon. While taking breaks I was looking a different blogs and then discovering a lot of new (to me) blogs by looking at others' blog lists. Wow are there some great blogs out there! I've added several to my already lengthy blog list and took the hint from Betty to change them so the most recent posts will pop to the top of the list. Not that that really matters, but I thought I'd give it a try.

Back to the laundry room makeover....

I Let Her Go

Imagine my surprise after coming home from JoAnns (a super fabric purchase) to check on the baby bird only to discover she wasn't in her cozy nest. Geez - talk about going into a panic. Alissa and I looked all over the room and couldn't find her. Then I realized the space under the door was big enough for her to go out into the dangerous house with two cats and two dogs - all of which would love to have a tiny bird to play with.

We went into the den and there was Topaz - the black kitty - crouched in stalking position looking under the blanket chest. Yep, there was the tiny baby. How in the world she made it across the house in one piece is a miracle! So we caught her and put her back in the cage and proceeded outside to catch a meal for her. Alissa informed she she was afraid of crickets (I laughed) so she supervised while I caught them along with rollie polly bugs and a couple of other crawly things. That little bird ate them as fast as we could put them in her nest.

I was really torn between releasing her and keeping her till her tail feathers grew out so she could fly. She wasn't happy at all and I knew I'd have to feed her bugs every four hours. Right now, I just can't manage that. And she was ok except for some raw spots and gunky feathers... and the all-important tail feathers. I knew I had to get the residue of that adhesive off of her to give her a fighting chance so into the bathroom we went again - this time with adhesive remover, soap and water. Poor little thing endured my torturous treament pretty well and only struggled a few times.

That gunk remover isn't good for the skin and I was concerned about that so washed her twice. I could still smell a little on her but at least her wing feathers were clean and dry. I gently dried her using the blow dryer on warm and held in far from her.

Her little head was still wet when I took her outside but knew I needed to let her go well before dusk so Alissa and I took her back to the front porch close to where I had found her this morning.

She was exhausted from being handled so much and sat in my hand for a very long time.

Do you see that tiny speck on her wet little head? It's a deer tick!!! I had no idea they got on birds!!! I was able to pick it off and squish it; ticks are so thick around here.

After several minutes, she jumped off my hand and onto the edge of the glider. It only took her another second to jump to the ground. I told Alissa to say a little prayer that the baby bird stays safe. I had put my mouser kitties in the garage so she had a chance for getting to a safe place for the night.

Safe life, baby wren. I'm sorry I endangered you.

The Best of Intentions

Last week I moved my doves and baby quail outside. The doves are still in their large cage but on the front porch where they have protection from the sun, and I don't think any predators will be coming up on my front porch....well, other than the two mouser kitties.

Enter the TomCat glue boards designed to catch mice. Now this has got to be one of the most inhumane ways to trap a mouse - they get stuck and suffer till they die. But I've used them on my kitchen counters to keep the cats off and they do a good job of that. Well, I put two of the glue boards on top of the dove cage to serve the same purpose with the mouser kitties and it has worked just fine. Trouble is, I forgot about them and they are still in place even though the cats don't bother the doves anymore.

What a shock I got a few minutes ago when I went outside to feed the doves only to find a baby wren stuck to one of the boards! OMG - I had to be very careful getting the bird removed from the board. Not only is this thick glue very, very tacky, she had struggled so much that her entire side was stuck tight. And that delicate, tiny wing was completely attached to the board. While telling myself what an idiot I am sometimes, I picked up the board with bird attached and brought it into the bathroom and promptly closed the door - I didn't want one of the dogs or inside kitties coming in to see what I was doing.

What a mess! I had to be so very careful with this tiny creature. She's fully feathered and weaned but still not full grown. She had struggled a lot and there were a couple of raw spots on the joint of her wing. I had to use warm water and mild soap to get the stupid board off of her. I was so nervous about that tiny wing being fully glued down too.

I managed to get her detached but she got drenched in the process. All her little tail feathers are stuck to the board but I managed to save most of her wing feathers. One of her tiny feet is still gunked up but I'll get that cleaned up after she rests from her ordeal.
Right now she is in a cozy nest made from a hand towel and under a lamp to keep her warm. I'm prety sure she will survive but I'm not even going to put food or water in ther for now. She needs to dry out before I can unwrap her. Poor sweet little thing - one of my favorite birds.




Needless to say, I've thrown the glue boards away and won't be using those outside again!