The Day after Christmas

I love the holiday season and want to have everything ready for so many people. But, I just seem to wait to the last minute to get it all done.  From November 1 through Christmas, I wake each morning with such a list of "must get done" that I can not think straight.  I can not tell you how many cakes, cookies, and bread I have baked in the last month. There were many sewing projects but I did not even slow down to take pictures.  I forget that as I get older working fast does not happen .....then I am fully exhausted.

Christmas was wonderful.  Got to spend time with all the kids/grandkids.  Some things I had planned did not get done, but if you never tell anyone what you are planning.....they never realize it did not happen.  Hope I remember next year to start in June.

Today was great!  Sadie and I made a 2.5 mile walk in the rain.....weather was so warm...it actually felt good.  Sadie then got a bath.

Then I started in the house. Cleaning. Had hardly touched the house other than pick up and required cleaning since Thanksgiving.  Worked all day.  Vacuum, Dust, caught up on laundry, got all the bedrooms with clean bedding.  Scrubbed and polished the granite counters in the kitchen.....they look so good.  Bathrooms are clean.....

I did sit down tonight and finally put the label on my Christmas Quilt.....it did not get used this year......but is now ready for next year.  I created a storage bag using a binding of some of the fabric.....easy to locate in the closet with all the others. It is all put away until next year.

My daughter had asked for special bags to be made for the twins.....for Christmas.  Time ran out and both of them did not get made.  This one was almost complete.  I finished it tonight and it is hanging in the closet.....Birthday will be soon and I will get the bag for Lola before then.

Oh how wonderful it will be to wake in the morning feeling relaxed and no pressing items on the daily agenda.  I feel like I have caught up in the house and the sewing table is not loaded with unfinished projects.

Ready to start again.

Christmas 2016

Nothing can be more special than spending Christmas with family.

This is my Mother(88 yrs ) and my youngest granddaughter(10 mo.)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful day with family and friends.

Merry Christmas!!

Scrappy Christmas

I started this in December last year.  It is made from scraps of previous Christmas quilts I made for my 3 children and a few fat quarters I had on hand.  The intention was to not purchase anything.

There was not a specific pattern, just make squares as I used up material, put it together and this one is for me.

I was also going to use what I had in stash for the backing.  It was unbleached domestic.  I usually like to add something extra to the back  for color and to tie in the colors.  As I laid it out on the floor to get a look, my Hubby said what are you doing?  That does not look good.....

I explained my wish to "no purchase" and finish.....but I lost the battle and went to the fabric store.
Here is the finished back.

He was right......the striped piece on the domestic would not have been near as pretty.

The next part of this (of course) is quilting.  This is my first complete quilt that I have Free Motion quilted.  I did not use the walking foot.  

The square sashing is a type of scroll work, viewed from front and back.

 I did not stick with cotton material only, I used some flannel(white multi color dot) and soft corduroy(red in bottom pic).

Large squares are done with spirals and corner to corner quilting.

 On smaller squares there is outlining, meandering and circles.

 

 

 The border was just a diagonal continuous line.(kinda wiggly)

It's a wrap

except for the label......

2016-Life with Sadie

I have not posted since New Year's.

I received a birthday present in January that has consumed my time.
I have been sewing but have to sneak it in.  This present has kept me very busy.
Meet Sadie. She is an Australian Shepherd....very active and very attached to me.
She stays by my side all day.

 She has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen .

  It seems that she realizes that sewing means very much to me....her competition.  If I do not stop sewing when she ask, she will stand up and take her paws to clean off the sewing table or remove things from the garbage.  She then gets attention.....but not like she wanted, but I am also not sewing.  She has been a challenge....but I love her.

She is very strong willed and has been much harder to train than other dogs we have had.  I'm told that is because she is extremely smart and a free thinker.

When I leave her at home with Hubby......this is where you will find her.

She is now 10 months old and beginning to calm down just a bit.  

I am beginning to get to sew a little more.

Has been a busy 8 months but I love this little girl and she is definitely worth my time.

Be posting some sewing soon.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to All!

Spent the evening in the kitchen with Lola....(9yr old) and her twin Julian.
Made sure they had a "sugar load" to keep them up to midnight.

This is what a happy grandmother sees on New Year morning.

 

Hope the rest of 2016 is just as great!

Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I have been extremely lax in keeping up the blog.  I have been sewing like a mad woman for months and gardening in between.

I did complete all the Christmas projects on Sunday......and they are delivered or wrapped.

I completed all 8 grandchildren the traditional PJ's and made several other gifts.

These first 2 were requested because they were supposed to be used for a feature in the local newspaper.  These were for Lola and Julia.....9yr old twins.

The gowns and PJ's are for Nora(8) Allie(6), and Thomas(3).

Elcey and Everette(18 mo twins), Nathan (6)

I first made the gown top for Elcey.....but with brothers, she sometimes wants to dress like the boys. So to make sure that she would have special PJ's I also made her the fox shirt too.  Now she has a choice.

I completed some pillows for the Sunday School Mission Auction



I quilted a wall hanging for Julian as part of his Christmas.






















These are just the Christmas items......too much other to cover  now.

but I am extremely excited to finally get my Funky chickens completed and hung......a project that has been on my table for quite sometime.




Hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas and get to spend time with family and friends.

Nana

Happy Independence Day

I hope that everyone has had a great 4th of July.

Special thanks to all those that have ever served in our Military to allow us the freedoms that we experience in the US.

We, at our house, have had the greatest 4th in many years.  This was the first time that our 3 children and their families have been together in more than 4 years.  Amazing how life and time separates but what a wonderful day to celebrate family.

My Mom, Sister and one of her daughters were also table to join us for a wonderful time together.

The grandchildren had a wonderful time playing together all afternoon.  Reminder of all the wonderful youthful years when we also enjoyed the family times with our cousins so far removed from our lives now.

Geeds always provides plenty of food to satisfy everyone.  Even the youngest enjoy the ribs.

 

and Geeds gets to relax and enjoy all the family.

 

As we close for the day

We must all remember that God has provided us this wonderful land and freedom.

 Our forefathers understood this as our government was based on "In God We trust".

We must never forget and make sure that we close each day with our prayers of thanks.

And as we move into a new Presidential race, more than ever, our prayers should be for a God fearing leader.

 

God Bless America