What's keeping my pre-occupied

Getting things done lately has been a real challenge. I'm just not motivated enough to make myself do anything but what must be done or to just sit and stare at the television.

This has been the only crafting I have done since Thanksgiving. It's slow, not very gratifying, and just plain boring. Eventually it will become a cube for the Bible Study pre-school program.

I've managed a few stitches in my Lace Cabin block, but sadly, it's not finished either. The tree is finally done and I've moved on to the cabin itself and the mini quilt blocks that hang in the tree.

On a purely selfish note, I celebrated my birthday recently and was gifted with some beautiful, thoughtful gifts. I understand from BF that providing a list of requested gift suggestions doesn't necessarily mean you will get what is on that list. In her case, it seems to be a list of "what-not-to-purchase" for said recipient.

In my case, fortunately for me, it means I will get exactly what I requested. Case in point, a new rotary cutter, replacement blades (12 of them) and a new, larger cutting mat - 24 x 36 inches !!!

Yes, I am a very happy girl.

Someone else thinks I'm pretty special too :)

Who doesn't love squishy mail??

And not only that, but it's from one of my absolute favorite on-line quilt shops - Fort Worth Fabric Studios.

If you want to know how wonderful this place is, my friend Susan, placed the order, requested that they send it to me and they did, including a beautiful birthday card (not sure if they did that, or if Susan provided) and a sweet tea bag so I can enjoy a cup while I lovingly pet my new fabrics :)

How can I not feel like the most special person in the world at this moment in time - I do :)

Thank you, Susan for being so sweet to me and knowing me well enough to know that I absolutely LOVE the fabric choices.

Now, I just have to decide what to do with them . . . 

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

It's December !!!!

First off, I can't believe it's already December.

Secondly, I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've had a post.

Not much is getting done around my house with all the busy-ness, Thanksgiving, and now the final push for Christmas. I have so missed crafting and working on my blog.

On top of everything else, my computer is acting up and getting to the library to use public computers is just one more thing on a long list of to-dos. 

The best news lately is this bundle of wonderful and love.

I belong to an annual swap group. We get to basically choose what goes into the swap, allowing much creative license to the sender.

I got to choose two colors and/or themes - I chose civil war reproductions. We are to collect 24 FQs for the year.

My partner was extremely generous and I can't wait to start playing with the Farmer's Wife quilt blocks. That is my ultimate goal and use for all this yummy-ness.

Next, I could choose two of three - needle book, pincushion or ornament. I chose the needlebook and pinchushing AND got both, plus all these other wonderful notions.

Plus some wonderful extras. I can't thank my partner enough and to be perfectly honest, thank you doesn't seem to be enough. I'm over the moon with joy.

Needless to say, I can't wait for next year.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

Weekend plans, mom visit

We are expecting snow this weekend :)

 

 

No, this doesn't bother me in the least. In fact, I look forward to it because it means I can make soup and I can stay in-doors and do what I love best:  sew, bake, read, watch movies - not necessarily in that order.

In the meantime, we are enjoying a gorgeous Indian summer day of almost 70 degrees !!! 

I've gone through my garden and pulled the spent marigolds and zucchini plants. There was a very small of harvesting. Maybe enough for a loaf of zucchini bread. I still have parsley and rosemary to harvest. Friday afternoon when the pups want to go out for a romp in the sunshine.

I had a wonderful visit with Mom and Aunt from Canada. Aunt came in for Mom's birthday and Christmas shopping. They've had a great visit all week. She's heading home over the weekend, weather permitting.

My weekend sewing plans include my goal list:

1. Christmas PJs - three more to do, get them done.

2. UFO - Wendy's Christmas table runner

3. Library Book - draw off pattern 

4. Lace cabin - block is almost done :)

 

I did some pattern organizing on Wednesday. Not sure how soon I'll get to either of these, but wanted to make sure I didn't loose anything.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings. 

Wednesday check-in and Goals recap

As always it's been a hectic week. I managed quite a few days at home beginning on Wednesday, so productivity was way up.

Goals for the week of 11/6/16:

1.  Pajamas - DONE

These two are going to the oldest and youngest in one family.

A 5-yard piece of flannel can go pretty far. I still have the scraps to cut up for quilts.

2. Christmas Wall Hangings - All four are done + one

Number 5 is also a gift. Not sure I'll get one done for myself this year after all of these :)

I'm also going to miss my "display" fence. The growing season is over and we had a killing frost over the weekend.

The forecast for the coming weekend is accumulating snow. Gotta love lake-effect. I really don't mind. I love the changing seasons and the first snow is always something I enjoy.

3. UFO - Wendy's Christmas - no progress

4. Library Book - draw off pattern - no progress

5. Lace Cabin - no progress

And some bonus projects:

Appliqued dish towels for BF's birthday next year.

Felt fish for the three year olds at Bible study.

So it's been a week since I last posted. I just can't seem to get more in right now. Monday I worked with Honey Do on an inventory project. I like having a "non-job" job. I only work when he really needs something done and no one else to do it. 

Tuesday we noticed a huge decrease in separation anxiety for our three year olds. We had 12 little ones and no major issues. The morning goes really fast when there are that many. 

Wednesday is my stay-at-home day, except I didn't. I've been thinking for the last few months about a new hair cut and I finally did it I got four to six inches chopped off. Feels like 50 pounds !!! I do this every few years just because I get tired of it being long and want a different look. Hope I still like it tomorrow :)

Between chores, I'll work on my goal list. So here's my new list.

1. Christmas PJs - three more to do, get them done.

2. UFO - Wendy's Christmas table runner

3. Library Book - draw off pattern 

4. Lace Cabin 

I'm leaving the list here since I have three pairs of PJs to make. If I manage to get anything else done, which I probably won't, I'll consider it a bonus.

I'm off to empty the washer and get started on my list.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

Mid-week mojo

I started my week by straightening up my kitchen. It wasn't dirty, just very cluttered. This particular side of the counter collects everything from canned goods to mail.

.

I found this container in the trash bin at church. It's gorgeous and don't those apples look pretty and inviting.

With the cooler weather, it's a great time for some baking - apple muffins, of course.

On the crafting, sewing, stitching front,

Block 2 of the sheep is done.

And from my goal list - all four of the Christmas stocking wall hangings that are gifts are completely finished. Appliqued, quilted, embellished, bound and with hangers.

Absolutely thrilled with how they turned out. I have one more to do - it will be for me.

This was a free pattern - here's your link.

My goal for Thursday was to stay home and catch up all the loose ends. I ran errands on Wednesday. I don't go to Mom this week and BF is in New Jersey with her husband celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary !!!

(image from Yahoo)

I started with these towels.

All four are the same applique. These are leftover from the scarecrow wall hangings. I found the towels at a discount store in my neighborhood for less than $5.00. A simple zig-zag and done.

Next up, one more stocking. This one is for me. And since I have an applique BOM that I collected from my local quilt shop this year, I need the practice. I pretty much have decided that I'm going to do all on the machine. It will be a new experience for me.

In between, I did things like thorough clean the stove, wash dishes, put some odds and ends away and talk on the phone.

We went outside.

 

The trees are full of these black birds. They are really loud and when they fly they are a big shadow going across the ground.

Rocky was very curious about the shadows and the rooting through the leaves they were doing.

Came back in to find squishy mail.

Thank you, Susan. As always, the 9s are beautiful. I love the extras.

Off to work on that goal list.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

Goal report for 10/30/16

As I stated in the last post, I'm trying to stay motivated.

Does that mean I got anything done?  It doesn't feel like it, but I have been working on things.

Goals:

1.  Pajamas - zip

2. Christmas Wall Hangings - half done; two of four

3. UFO - Wendy's Christmas - zilch

4. Library Book - draw off pattern - zero

5. Lace Cabin - nada

6. Sheep - block 2 - done

7 - Scarecrow - DONE

Can you tell the last two weeks I've been off my game? 

Not much progress on the list, but I'm very pleased with what I do have done. Guess we can't have everything.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

Trying to stay motivated . . .

 I've been having a hard time the last couple of weeks. I know it's kind of that time of year. It's been raining and chilly, although the last couple of days have been really nice.

Also, the garden is giving me it's last hurrahs for the season.

Some grape tomatoes, the peppers are mostly done I just haven't pulled the plants yet. 

The zucchini is giving me some beautiful new blooms and growth. There are some really small zucchini I'm watching. Although I think they would survive a frost because they are cold weather plants.

In an effort to boost my mood and show my family I really do love them, I made this peanut butter cup pie. It's REALLY !!!! rich, so a small piece goes a long way.

My plans and goals for Wednesday are to work on the Christmas stocking wall hangings. I have four of them stitched now, ready for sandwiching and quilting.

It's a challenge on a small, table-top machine, but we'll make it work. You use what you have. Bindings will match the backings. Those are cut and just need to be sewn. Once all that's done there are a few buttons to just add a little something extra.

Rocky has outgrown most of the coats I made him last winter. So that's on the agenda for this week too, at least one.

We pulled out new, old toys. I'd like to make him some new of those too. I'm not finding anything in the stores I like or am willing to pay those prices for :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.