Goals for the week of July 31, 2017

Goals for the week of July 31, 2017

1. Christmas Pajamas

- Nine pairs two pairs done

2. Santa Hats Wall Hangings

- enlarge pattern - done

- draw off hats

- cut out hats

3. Shoebox Swap

- review contents - done

- make shopping list - done

- make gift

4. Samaritan's Purse Shoeboxes

- assemble boxes

- fill boxes

5. Snowmen Dozen

- finish final three blocks

6. Art with Fabric Blog Hop
- choose design - done
- choose fabric


Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Mom "Fix" and more

What an absolutely wonderful visit and day Newton and I had with Mom. We enjoyed breakfast and conversation for several hours. I got some cleaning done and Mom purged a closet she's been wanting to get done. After school goes back in session at the end of August, I'm going to try to visit weekly. She says she gets more accomplished when I'm there to help. More regular visits would not be a bad idea just to make sure she's doing well.

Dinner, dishes, laundry done or in progress. I thought I would draw off another row of Salem Witches Quilt Guild but decided against it in favor of one of my other goals this week. I pulled out my Showebox Swap and was really disappointed to find that I only had five of the 24 fat quarters that are the only requirement for this swap. That generated a shopping list and plans to put a huge dent in it next week.

Friday I spent sorting through the various boxes and piles of things that came out of the dining room and I really didn't want back in there. Again, extremely warm and muggy. It was hard to keep at anything for long. I didn't have the a/c on because it was supposed to be cooler - that didn't happen.

I took some time and researched quilt shops in a different part of the state and got phone numbers and directions. There were three of them that are probably 30-45 minutes apart.

I gathered dinner supplies, returned books to the library, dropped off paper recycling. Between loads of laundry, I finished putting the dining room back together and the living room de-cluttered.

Mid-afternoon, Honey Do sent me a text asking if I wanted to pull up the carpet in  the living room (room #2)? Of course, I said yes !!

Saturday didn't go at all as I had originally planned - sewing, catching up my goal list.

Instead, I made breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen, then we three started on the carpet and 90 minutes later the floor was bare except for some straggled staples and padding, the floor needing swept and washed.

In the meantime, Honey Do got it in his head to replace the two recliners that had seen much better days and spent some time researching the internet. Back in May, he promised me a new recliner for Mother's day. Saturday was the day to keep that promise, but instead of a one I got two !!!

They're big and comfy and there's a sectional that we are thinking about getting later.

They were set up in no time. I continued my clean up. It's time consuming, but I am absolutely thrilled the carpet is gone and my house feels cleaner.

Sunday I cleaned up the china cabinet and front window.

I did some purging between a couple of loads of laundry, put things back on the fireplace mantle and made breakfast and lunch for Monday. That created lots more dishes and I got those done as I went. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do any sewing or stitching this weekend. It gives me lots to look forward to this coming week with all the other things I/we got accomplished. I should be able to finally get my goal list up to date.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Day 3 of Remodel

My goals for Wednesday

- finish pulling tack strips (I think this is what they're called) - DONE

- vacuum floor - DONE

- wash floor - DONE

- clean window - DONE

- place area rug, if I can find time to shop and find one - DONE

- return furniture - still working on this one, I ran out of steam

WOW !! that was a busy day and I'm absolutely thrilled !! I have another room to do, but I can only do so much. The floors will have to be sanded and refinished eventually, but we want all the carpeted areas done first before we rent and get into that project.

I managed a fun little project.

This little chair was painted to represent crayons with the little black "ricrac" around the ends and was orange, blue, green and yellow. It went with a set that my sister purchased Newton when he was three or four for Christmas one year. This is the only surviving piece. I bought a can of spray paint and after just a few minutes achieved this adorableness.

The bunny has a tag that says she is an "original 30s". She's made from an old quilt and has raggedy, worn sections. I fell in love with her years ago and love her still. And don't they make wonderful additions to your decor? She just makes me smile :)

Mom is getting a visit on Thursday. Not sure how much I'll get done at my own home, but I still have some furnishings to put back in the dining room and I really want to get reacquainted with my sewing machine.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Remodeling ??

Every project I get myself into seems to take longer than I plan and always makes a huge mess.

Some of this stuff needs to be gone, some needs to be put away. The dining room is coming along.

Something else that's coming along is the guest room.

 

I've added some pictures on the walls. This is challenging because the wall and ceiling meet on curves, not right angles, due to the roof line. 

I didn't make either of these. The first one was purchased years ago when I rented in my 20's. The second one is a thrift store find. It is hand made and was a gift for someone. I'm sorry they didn't appreciate the love and effort that went into doing this much work. But their discard is now my treasure.

Some day this will be our room again. I'm pretty pleased with the results and really happy that I got it done. I'll have have to paint, but that's for another time.

We had steak fajitas for dinner. These peppers are the first harvest from my garden. It was pretty tasty - no leftovers :)

As the day went on, I made more progress on the dining room, although it's not finished. This is also prohibiting any machine sewing. I'm hoping to get the table and other furniture back in place on Wednesday, then I should be able to get something done.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Weekend Doings

It has been a very busy exhausting couple of weeks. I'm coming off of a very successful Vacation Bible School and that means I'm ready to get back to my "normal" routine . . . almost :)

Saturday began with chocolate waffles with fresh nectarines. I cleaned up my kitchen and sewing space, got lunch and dinner supplies together.

Lunch:  Chicken Po'boys

Dinner: Vegetable Stew

Both healthier choices than we once ate. The sandwiches went over well, the stew not so much mostly because it was vegetarian.

I managed to get the first pair of Christmas pajamas done and a second pair started.

Overall, my Christmas in July was a bust. This was all I got done from my list. As usual, I over planned myself with goals and commitments.

As for my stitchery, I got another couple of snowmen done.

I'm halfway through the dozen.

Rocky makes sure I'm giving this project plenty of time and attention.

Monday was crazy. I didn't get half done what I expected or wanted. I started with laundry, but the washing machine decided it was a good day to go on strike. I only got two loads done.

I spent the morning in the guestroom making the bed and the room pretty.

I pulled out my discards for the donation pick up and put a few more things away. All in all, I'm very pleased with  this room.

 

 

Newton went out to finish mowing the lawn and I got it in my head to pull up the carpet in the dining room ! Exactly !! What was I thinking ?? !!

Anticipating a big job, I started in the smaller of the two rooms this project will happen and moved things out and started pulling it up. The carpet was easy, the padding not so much. Newton came in and after a short break started pulling out the staples. We got it done and now we have to pull up the nail strips and I want to wash the floor. I see a new area rug in my very near future. :)

I spent the evening a bit unsettled after all the activity of the day and everything being a bit out of place. 

I managed to settle enough to work on another snowman.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Recapping VBS Week

Recap of Vacation Bible School Week

By Sunday, July 16, my week had caught up with me and I hit the wall. To say I'm tired is a bit of an understatement. I'm exhausted !! But this too shall pass.

My projects for VBS were all ready to go and I was hoping to get myself back to my normal routine. I kept my goals the same because I didn't get much accomplished the week before for the time spent getting everything ready.

The week was a huge success.

Monday we made "slime" and the kids had a great time. It was messy, but fun. The tie-in was how God holds everything together and the fact that He created us and we didn't come from goop or slime.

Tuesday was semi successful. About the third row of beads the kids were getting the concept of weaving. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and projects didn't get finished.

This frog project and the unfinished snakes went home and many of the children brought the snakes back on Wednesday to show me they were finished. More still told me they were working on them and the frogs.

The tie in:  The snakes represent sin/temptation and the frogs our ability to "hop" away and make the right choices.

Wednesday was successful again with bookmarks using Sharpie markers and star shaped beads to dangle from the ties at the top.

The tie in: they had to write "God promised" on their projects to remind us that God keeps His promises to us and we have the Bible to prove it.

Thursday were clear plates with the blue tissue paper. They wrote with metallic markers: Jesus is the light. When they held the plates up they could see through them.

Friday was their prayer journals which were cutting and minimal assembly. The tie in: keep your relationship with God going.

My afternoons were equally busy running errands, stopping at work for cardboard to go back to the church for recycling. Newton had his first job interview on Monday, went to mow on Tuesday and a movie on Wednesday.

I spent Wednesday afternoon cleaning and setting up my guest room. Purging stuff we no longer need for collection on Monday.

In the meantime, there's been plenty of Rocky time.

That means lots of stitching :)

 

Goals are staying the same for the next week since I didn't get anything done except these adorable little snowmen.

1. Christmas pajamas

2. Santa Hats wall hangings

- enlarge pattern - DONE

- draw off, cut out hats

3. Shoebox Swap

- review contents

- make shopping list

- make gift

4. Samaritan's Purse

- assemble boxes

- start filling boxes

5. Dozen Snowmen

- continue stitching

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

The Week Before Vacation Bible School

My week has been very hectic. . .

Monday I had a meeting at church to finalize the only print project for Vacation Bible School. Newton tried to have a job interview, but the hiring manager was on vacation, Honey Do had a doctor appointment and I tried to keep up on household chores.

I've also been keeping up with my stitchery.

 

Two more tiny snowmen finish and another one begun.

These are so small I'm using a three inch hoop to do the stitching.

As for Vacation Bible School, I spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday filling various sizes of condiment cups with baking soda, saline solution and glue (above). These will come together and make Slime :) This is the Monday project.

 

Three more projects ready to go. First photo is of tissue paper that is cut 10 x 10 for clear plastic plates. Second will be binding for the printing project and last is a frog key chain. This is ending up being an add on that will go home. I'm going to package a much simpler snake or lady bug for class time. As I thought about it all week, I don't think we'll have enough time to get this done in time to go home. These are first, second and third grade. So I'm probably pushing the expectations on that.

I have manage to begin sewing the pajamas. First one is done, swoosh :) I did manage to get a pillow case made (forgot the photo) and a second one started.

Spent some time with Mom this week - yeah poor planning, but enjoyed the time anyway and the house is clean and some purging and reorganizing got done with Newton helping her while I cleaned.

Friday will be spent collecting the supplies for the final project - it's finally been chosen and decided. 

Enjoying some summer :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Goals - Christmas in July Week 1

Goals for July 2, 2017

1. PJ's 

- Cut out 4 of 7 pairs - DONE - cut out 7 of 9

- Sew at least 1 pair

2. Santa Hats

- pull together supplies - DONE

design personalized layouts - DONE

3. Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes - no progress here

- review and start filling boxes

4. Shoebox Swap - no progress here

- reivew contents

- make gift

- make shopping list

Bonus Projects

5. Lace Cabins

- quilt row 5 - DONE

 

6. Sheep

- finish alternate blocks - DONE

7. DOD Patriotic Quilt

- piece backing

Goals for the week of July 9 - 16 Week 2

1. Christmas in July

- sew pajamas

2. Santa Hat Wall Hanging

- enlarge pattern

- cut out hats

3. Shoebox Swap

- review contents

- make shopping list

- make gift

4. Samaritan's Purse

- assemble boxes

- start filling

 The rest of the week will be spent finalizing the preparations for Vacation Bible School next week. So anything after what's on the list will be bonuses :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you days of creativity and productivity.

New Game Plan

Mom called Wednesday evening and changed plans for Thursday. It's all good. We took care of Newton's physical, which took two and a half hours !! The doctor is very thorough and we found out that he can see Newton into adulthood. There won't have to be any transition to a new doctor when he turns 18 years old.

My day started late with the appointment and errands. Here's what I got accomplished:

Sheep/Patchwork hearts - four to finish assembling

Everything was pressed and all sewn together.

Next step, quilting the blocks. It took what was left of the day, plus interruptions to get them done.

Friday . . . Let me start out by saying there are just not enough hours in this day !!

I had seven stops to make. It took all morning !! Two were fun stops. First was the library.

Lots of new reading material. I found all of these on the discontinued shelves. I love that the library does this. It only costs me a little time and a dollar for hard covered books and fifty cents for soft.

The second was my local quilt shop - the one that is only five minutes up the street and I don't frequent often or I would go broke.

My motivation was to get another Row by Row design, but this shop isn't participating this year. It's the second shop I've gone to that isn't participating. But I didn't waste the trip :)

This sweet little bundle is going to make a ladybug wall hanging. I just couldn't resist and to sweeten the deal I had credit for frequent shopping (not that I go all that often) and it ended up at around $15 !!! I was absolutely thrilled :)

And more sweetness, they are working on the same design with a bumble bee - yes, I signed up for that one.

The only sewing I accomplished on Friday was to piece the backing for the DOD Patriotic quilt.

It was 60 inches wide and 60% off when I purchased it. A great find. Now to sandwich and it will be ready for quilting. This top is all assembled, so I may have no choice but to put it on the rack - if I ever get the house quilt finished.

Isn't the week flying?

Saturday was supposed to be cooler, but the cold front didn't feel like it came through. By noon the first load of laundry was on the line. The sky had cleared and there was a nice breeze. By 5 p.m. all the laundry was washed and dried.

Lately, I've been "shopping" a lot of healthy meals cookbooks. Here's a few of my recent favorites.

I have a really hard time committing recipes to memory and use the books for meal planning (as you can see from all the tabs hanging on the sides and tops). I do so much better with a plan, not just for being prepared but also for unnecessary purchases. I've done better adding more fresh fruits and vegetables, especially vegetables. I borrow most of the titles from the library and if I decide I really like them, I order on line. I've found some good, reputable titles at the local discount and dollar stores, too.

Saturday afternoon was spent working on my Christmas in July goals.

Seven of nine pairs of pajamas have been cut out. This pretty much wipes out my stash of flannel. And that's OK. As the kids hit about 13 years old, I'll start giving them money and they can save toward something they want. Bigger pieces of leftover flannel will go in a bin and saved for scrap flannel quilts. Smaller pieces will go in another bin and be used as stuffing for dog beds for the local animal shelter. That should cut down on my need to not waste anything. I have fleece that was donated to my church that hasn't been used yet. I'll use that for the pillows. Once I get that made, I can just put the scraps right in and fill as I go. Makes them washable and warm. And I finally feel like I've found a project I can get behind.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you days filled with creativity.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program . . .

Thursday got a change in plans. Mom decided we would do her cleaning next week. Newton had a physical any way, so it meant a really late start.

Unlike Wednesday, which started out sunny and gorgeous, Thursday is overcast and very humid. And other than feeling like I've had two Mondays this week because of the holiday, it's been a fairly productive week.

I've worked hard to stay up on chores and it's paying off. I get the next few days to play with my projects.

First up, Christmas in July. I took some time to draw a layout to personalize this little project. It's hard to see because I did it in pencil, but these are little Santa hats. The cuffs will have each family members name on it. Across the top it will say "Santa Claus is coming to" and then the bottom will say "town, Ohio 2017".

These are for my nieces' families. The number of hats will very and so will the name of their cities. The hats will be enlarged from the original size of 1.5 inches. And the tops will have a jingle bell or button - yet to be determined, but I'm leaning toward the bells.

Not sure if the pattern is still available, but I found it here.

Next up, I finished quilting row 5 of the Lace Cabins.

 

This was really hard to do on my sewing machine because it's so detailed. Spacing is off and I'm not sure about all the "corners". But I'm NOT doing it again.

How cute is that little owl button?

And finally, I worked on the scrap hearts alternate blocks for the Sheep quilt. I have two completely finished and four that are in rows waiting to be pressed and sewn together.

Dinner prep and dessert took the rest of the afternoon. Boy, was it HOT !!!!

Food was good :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creativity filled day.

Hot - Humid - ahhhh - A/C . . .

NOT

That's right - no air conditioner. 

It was working when we went to bed around midnight. I woke up around 5:30 a.m. The furnace was running but it was really warm. I got up and checked. The temperature was 78 degrees. The a/c is set for 72. Well, it was running, so I went back to bed.

At 6:30 a.m. I got up again. Still read 78 degrees, still too hot and still running. So I took the dogs out and noticed the outside unit didn't sound right. Further investigation found that the fan was not turning in the unit. We went back in and turned everything off, turned on all the fans and opened doors and windows. The unit is old and we're fearing the worst. 

I found a cool spot in the dining room window. Between cleaning up the kitchen and making potato salad, I worked on drawing off the second row of the Salem Witch Quilt Guild.

*

Because they are so big (45 x  18) they take some time to get drawn off. I'll be glad to keep moving along with the stitching when the time comes, so the time spent now drawing will be worth it. This is such a cute design from Crabapple Hill.

This is a four day weekend for Honey Do :}

We don't and didn't have any specific plans. Saturday, Newton went to see Despicable Me 3 (he like it) and Honey Do and I went and got the rest of the mulch I needed for the vegetable garden.

Sunday, Newton went to the animal shelter. Honey Do and I tried to find a cool spot since the a/c went out. After some research, you have to LOVE You-Tube, he thinks he might be able to repair it himself with a $20 part !!! Wouldn't that be wonderful!! ??

Monday morning, Honey Do went fishing on Lake Erie. I'm content to be home working on the Witches 

and finishing the weeding in my garden. Fortunately, I have Newton to help me with all the heavy lifting :)

The day turned out very productive. I didn't have specific goals set, just finish one thing and move on to the next. I finished the second row of the witches then recovered a bed pillow that I washed and its cover just disintegrated, then I started quilting the last row of log cabins.

As the day went on, temperatures rose and so did the humidity. It took longer to finish the mulching in the garden, but I persevered and finished. Unfortunately, I'm just a few bags short :(

Tuesday was another very productive day :)

I love when long weekends turn out good. All my laundry got caught up including putting it away (doesn't always happen).

My sweet Honey Do took me to get the rest of the mulch I needed and my garden is completely finished now :)

 

I found some time in between all the "chores" to work on the lace cabins. I'm hoping to finish the row on Wednesday.

As for my Christmas/holiday projects, I've gathered my flannel for the pj's. Next step is to decide who gets what and if I have enough.

I pulled a pattern for my nieces wall hangings. I made some notes to maybe make the project more personal to each family and add the date, which I haven't done in the past.

This adorable print is going to be the backing.

I'll be away the next couple of days. I have to work, Newton has a physical and I'll go see Mom again on Thursday :) This time we have some cleaning to do since we didn't last time :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you creativity and productivity.