Busy is Good

Block #7 of Bethlehem is called "Which Way". The three wisemen are all pointing in different directions :) I have the first one done!! All those little dots are beads :) His beard took several days. Today, I worked on the camel that he's sitting on. His turbin will have a "gem" in the center but that will have to wait for completion of the block or I won't be able to use my hoop to stitch.

  

I finally finished the sewing box to go along with the pin cushion I made several weeks ago. As I shop the fabric store I will collect a few more notions to put inside, but this completes my Christmas/birthday gift for the month.

I found these printed linens on Etsy. Aren't they gorgeous? They just scream Tilda doll to me.

So what are you all working on?

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Mother's Day

As I sit and enjoy a quiet morning with Honey Do, I'm reflecting on today. Newton spent the night with my sister. My niece and her husband joined us to attend an arena football game.

Anyway, my reflection. . .  as children, my brother, sister and I always tried to make Mother's Day special for my mom. Making cards, doing her chores, taking her out for meals, purchasing gifts as we got older and had jobs.

I became a foster parent in my mid 40s. I didn't have children prior to my marriage (yes, I got married later too). We weren't blessed with children of our own, so we started with fostering then adoption. And as this journey has progressed, I have discovered that motherhood, first of all, is not for everyone and especially not the meak. You must be a strong person, or quickly become one. Most adopted children, especially if they come through the child welfare system, all have problems from having survived their harsh early years. That was an extremely rude awakening for me. The emotional trauma that accompanies abuse and neglect is something we will all have to live with for the rest of our lives. You don't realized how early in life our personalities and dispositions are determined.

Not every mother has the fairy tale life with her children. Many mothers never get the flowers or dinners out or gifts. Many mothers live with extenuating circumstances every day, with loss. More often than not, thankless, abused and neglected themselves. They care for children who can't care for themselves; or they care for children who don't want to care for themselves because they are just too wrapped up in their own self-centeredness and won't (not can't) see beyond their own desires.

Many mothers are single mothers, or worse, mothers with spouses who don't support them and are equally abusive to their wives as their children are.

I don't share my reflections to depress you. I know that we all have our lots in life but it's not all roses and candy. My wish and prayer today is especially for those mothers who today will be just another day of the normal in their lives, the nothing special. They are the ones who need our love and prayers and wishing for a very special and blessed mother's day because they don't expect anything more and deserve so much more than they are getting.

May all you moms have a very happy, blessed and meaningful Mother's Day.

Finally, a day together

for Mom and I . . . and Newton. Newton didn't have school today, so we went to see my Mom and help around the house. It's been several weeks. While I straightened up, dusted, swept and washed floors, Newton and Mom did some gardening together. Mom always loved gardening and had the most gorgeous roses while I was growing up. I always hated helping with the weeding but am glad to say I learned a lot during those years because now I have my own to care for. Which are in desperate need of attention !!

While I enjoyed the visit and time together, the heat of the day took it's toll. It was in the mid 80s and driving in the bright sunshine makes you just want to curl up and sleep. And since we spent the better part of the day away from home, I didn't have much crafting time . . .  not that I'm complaining.

From this I did manage a finish :)

A Christmas gift for BFF. This is a bath mat. The colors match her bathroom perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Mid Week

I can't believe it's Wednesday already . . . Time is just flying.

It was a little warmer and dryer today so I managed to spend a little time outside this afternoon. My morning was otherwise spoken for and while I was out at appointments I stopped at a local garden center to shop for some vegetable plants and flowers.

Yesterday, while I was outside clearing some of the sticks and "winter" debris, I kept looking at a tree stump. Part of the stump was hollowed out, one of the main reasons the tree had to come down a couple of winters ago. Honey Do was talking about taking it down all the way, but I had a better idea . . . 

I picked up a geranium and snap dragons and planted them in the hollow. I've already set up my Adirondack rocking chairs and am making a place to sit and relax in my back yard. Isn't it pretty :) Makes me very happy.

I haven't gotten much stitching done today, but I did finish another block for the Tilda quilt.

Mother's day came a few days early for me this year. Honey Do ordered this precious beauty for me.

"Queen Bee"

Isn't she beautiful?

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Progress report

Happy Cinco de Mayo !!

What a great way to start the week :)

And now for my progress report.  Friday was Friday Night With Friends.

Did you have a lot of work planned for Friday and the weekend?

Here's how my weekend went:

Quilt Doodles BOM #2 - DONE :)

This one went together so much faster and more accurately than the first block. Very happy :)

Next up, Bethlehem.

This is Block 7, the three wisemen although given that none of them is sure which way to go, we should probably question their wisdom :) Check out this guy's beard!! That was a lot of work! I was getting excited about having a sleeve done so I could embellish with the beads. And I'm very pleased with my satin stitching on his sleeve.

I followed Bethlehem up with work on another Tilda block:

Sometimes your pictures and/or computer just don't want to cooperate. I tried turning this one for the correct placement but it just wouldn't. . .  but you get the idea :)

As you can see, I have numberous projects in progress.  Several are published monthly. This one is twice monthly.

Little Stitches Block 7. It's not done, but all that white does take some time.

I spent the last week making "yarn" out of strips of fabric for this scrap fabric rug. I have made huge progress on it. A few more rows and it will be done . . . but I'll have to make more yarn :)

(oh :( these pictures that have a mind of their own !!)

I have the third block of the Quilt Doodle mystery quilt cut out. This one is an ever green tree.

Hope you had a successful, productive weekend.

Thank you for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Friday Night With Friends

Friday Night With Friends is today. Hope you can join us. 

I'm off to work on my projects. Here's hoping for another productive weekend.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative weekend.

4/30/14 - Monthly goals and finishes

April is done. Can you believe that four months have already done by this year. Time really is flying. So how did you do on your goals this month? I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to, but I can't say I'm not pleased with what I did.  Here's my recap:

April Goal List:

1 - Bethlehem - Finish Block 4 and Block 5. My goal is to do one block per month. Block four was begun in March and finished in April.

Block 4

Block 5

2 - Little Stitches- Blocks 5 and 6. These are published about every two weeks.

Block 5and 6

3 - Quilt Doodle BOM - Blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4. I'm way behind on this goal. Honestly, I was afraid to start. But now that I have, I'm feeling more confident. The first block was hard and not as pretty as I would really like, but not un-useable. Block 2 is almost done, so I see them being caught up in May. If you are interested, the link is under the photo.

Block 1

4 - One Christmas/Birthday gift. I was gifted some of those paper boxes with lids. This one had a butterfly design on the top that I really didn't like. I found a tutorial here. I didn't copy it, but it gave me the idea and I'm making that one on a larger box to hold basic sewing supplies. I'll finish that one in May.

 

5 - One garment for myself (new) - This didn't get done :( . . . However, I did manage to pull out a pattern and some fabric. So it will be a priority in May.

6 - Rag rug. I found this on Pinterest. I had a whole box of fabric strips that were prepared for Vacation Bible School last summer. We ended up not using them and the church didn't want the fabric, so I am using it to make these rugs.

7 - Spring pillow (UFO) - this didn't get done either. :(

8 - Snowmen block  - Block 2. I'm working this series with BFF. Neither one of us know when too much is too much, but so far I'm keeping up. We're sharing a pattern, so I'm waiting until she finishes hers then I get them. It really cuts down on expense. She purchases one design, I purchase the next and we share.

Block 2

9 - Tilda quilt. This is from Sew Pretty Home by Tone Finnegar. If you haven't checked out her books, I highly recommend them, especially if you like the "shabby chic". Her books are full of inspiration. Check them out at the library. I'm finding that the library carries many craft books and it's a great way to decide if you really want to invest in a book to add to your library. So many times we get things and end up being disappointed because it wasn't quite what you expected or there's only one or two designs you really love and you'll never use the book again. So I review them first and if I feel it's a good invest for me, I make the purchase.
So this is the first row of a five row quilted throw. It's appliqued and embroidered, so there is a pretty big time commitment and my goal will be one row per month. Of course, I can always do more if I find I have more time to spare - not usually :)

Row 1 of 5

10. This one wasn't on the list, but it's finished. Mom came to visit recently and didn't bring her project with her. We always work on something while we're visiting and I remembered this one. So she finished it for me except for the finishing round which I did later after she left.

Crocheted cotton rug

Only a couple of things didn't get done on my goal list for the month. Yeah, feeling pretty good about my accomplishments. I've tried to link you up with the sites that I can, if you have any questions drop me a line and I'll see if I can help.

Thank you for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Links:

http://desertskyquilts.wordpress.com/press-on

http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/p/bom-2014.html

http://sewitsfinished.blogspot.com/

http://www.littlemissshabby.com/quilty-stitches/

http://shabbyartboutique.com/2011/05/vintage-sewing-box-tutorial.html

http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/2010/02/rag-rug-tutorial.html