Pink Saturday

Look at this cute little mouse pincushion! I got the directions here and it only took me about 45 minutes to make. I had some flexible wire to use for her tail. Another pattern shows a spool of thread on her tail but I don't think I'm going to do that. That pattern did have a good tip though - put a flat rock in the base before sewing the closing. This will help her stand in the right position.


And I made a whole bowl full of pink hearts out of those pretty fabrics I posted a while back. I'm happy with the hearts but not the display. It seems to be missing something...maybe some twigs or a little branch sticking out of the middle with some paper hearts dangling...?


Happy Saturday, everybody!

It's Been a Quiet Week

Hi everybody,

I've been home all week and have quite enjoyed it. I haven't really given much thought as to which direction I should take next, but today I finally feel like taking some sort of action about finding a job.

One good thing about being home all week is that I've straighted up some of the mess I had created with all my sewing stuff. I got all my fabrics put away that I had used for the baby shower items, and did some minor organizing of sewing supplies. I've decided I need a cute little shelf to put jars of buttons and other pretties on and have the perfect design - one I found at the Atlanta Market a couple of weeks ago. Once I get it made, I'll post a picture.

In the mean time, here are a few more pictures of our six inch snow. It was beautiful and the first accumulation we've had in five years. Most of it has melted and today is going to be relatively warm and very sunny so I think I'll work outside for a while (getting the gardening itch). Oh, and I actually pieced a quilt top this week that I had started in 2007. All that's left is to add the border and then I can get supplies to finish it. Even before the layoff last week, I had decided I was going to complete all the projects that I've started.

This is Hansel and Gretel - my two Grey Saddleback Pomeranium geese (about nine months old now).

Here's a picture of Princess (whippet mix), the love of my life. She'll be 11 years old this July - I can't believe that.

...and Harley, my 12+ Heinz 57 and the best old guy on earth...

There is always hope for brighter days...

The chickens are cozy in the barn.

Flora - my favorite hen

Smudge and Topaz curled up on the daybed. Smudge is the huge and very handsome gray and white kitty; Topaz is solid black.

...and this is my Hollyhocks quilt top (it's lap size). There is one block I don't like but it's staying!


I hope you all have a great day today, no matter what your circumstances!

A Wonderful Day for All of Us!

Here I am in my cozy home while it's so cold and snowy outside...happy. I'm happy because even though I lost my job last Friday and have no idea what I'll do next, I feel hopeful and confident that this exceptional man will get our great country back on track. Things will be better for us all.

God Bless America and God Bless President Barack H. Obama and his family.

As Promised...

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the pictures from the Market. I took lots more but am saving them for other posts. Since my friend was mainly ordering for next Christmas, we spent most of our time looking at Christmas merchandise. I got lots of ideas for decorating and making pretty things for gifts next year.

Remember my post about the baby shower gifts for my oldest daughter? Well, I can now share a picture of the snuggle blanket I made for her, which she loved. I made some baby bibs but they aren't anything special. I wanted to embroider some cute things on them but just ran out of time. I also made her a nice nursing cover with detailed instructions I found on the web. Those things sell for $40 and it only took one yard of fabric ($10). I'm happy with the little snuggle blanket though. The pictures aren't very good; the color doesn't show properly. I made it from very soft chenille, which is a lime green color. It looks very washed out in the photos, but you can get an idea of what it looked like. The back is a soft beige satin and I put a layer of soft and natural quilt batting between the layers. To keep the batting in place, I did a little hand stitching around the appliques. I made my own appliques from some free images I found on the internet - don't you love free?!?




And after visiting some of my favorite sewing/quilting blogs, I decided I should post a picture of the quilt I made for myself last summer. I've made several quilts but this is the first one I've completed for myself. I named it Summer Sherbert.


Today it's still cold, but not as cold as yesterday! I think I'll spend my day organizing my craft and sewing rooms. They've gotten slightly (cough cough) out of hand over the last several weeks.

I hope you all have a great day and stay warm...and don't forget to help the animals that others don't take care of.
ttfn

Atlanta Market Part II

Hey everybody,

As promised, I'm sharing more pictures I took at the Market in Atlanta last weekend. I was most attracted to the displays that included garden related items. And since I went with a nursery owner, that's what I got to see a lot of! We both liked a lot of the same things and I just snapped away with my camera as soon as I was given permission.

I saw a lot of glass cloches, and all sizes of wood ladders used for displaying things on. Years ago I made a cute table out of a small wood ladder and put a round glass top on it. I still enjoy it and that's probably why I was so interested in how bigger ladders were used.

Enough gab....enjoy these pictures. I hope they remind you that even though it's bitter cold in most of the nation, spring isn't far away! Have a great day!

Atlanta Market

Hi everybody! A friend took me to the Atlanta Market and what a trip! I've never experienced anything like this and it was quite overwhelming. I took tons of pictures of displays, with the permission of the exhibitors of course, and wanted to share some with you right away.

And before I forget to tell you - guess who I met live and in person? - Anna Griffin of Anna Griffin, Inc!!! She was so nice and very gracious about me being so bold as to introduce myself to her...like I'm anybody! I just had to tell her that I loved her beautiful products and was so happy for her that she had made such a success for herself doing something she loves.

OK, now for some yummy pictures. The first few are of a wonderful exhibitor Peacock Park Designs - they had an absolutely gorgeous display! I'm a long time gardener and am drawn to almost anything related to it. Check out this sweet little garden shed, which is available for purchase...




And check this out - it's nothing more than a torn piece of cardboard that has been stenciled with their name. How cute is this?!?


And I'm definitely liking these wire cloches, which several exhibitors had. I didn't realize that I took pictures of every one I saw. I can't remember which exhibitors these are from, but I did ask their permission before taking any pics.




I have lots more beautiful pictures to share but will save them for the next posts.

I hope you all have a great day and appreciate being in your own home as much as I do!

Stormy Skies

Yesterday's weather was so rocky and I took a few pictures on my way home from work.

When I left work, I ran into a very hard rain storm, which isn't anything unusual. But...when I turned onto a small highway where it was still storming, I could see through the trees to the west and there was a bright white sun shining. The contrast was so sharp that I knew there would be a rainbow around somewhere. Sure enough a little further down the highway (it's a small road that winds past several horse farms), there it was - a rainbow. Not only a rainbow, but a double rainbow! The main one was so vibrant, but the pictures don't do it justice.

After heading onto another highway, the skies turned dark again.

Then I could see the clouds breaking up and there was the brightest silver lining over a big bunch of them, but I couldn't get a picture because trees blocked the view. By the time I could take pictures, the silver lining was gone but there were still bright highlights.


Another minute and there was a big patch of clear sky with an enormous black sky behind...this was the cold front coming. The clouds are so dense that it actually looks like the mountains off in the distance, but they are a couple hours to the west of me (sigh).

On to another road over a lake and and there were the prettiest orange/pink clouds...again they don't really show up but it was so pretty. I love crossing this lake every day and looking across it.

So the cold front moved in and we had a hard frost last night. I'm not complaining, as our weather is fairly mild for most of the winter.

I hope everybody has a nice day today. Tomorrow I leave for trip #2 and have soooooo much to do yet! I'll miss visiting in blog land!