Designs by Debbie and Dixie Too!

My My, It's Monday!

2012-03-05T07:24:00.000-05:00

Once again, I missed my Friday blog post, and I was doing fairly well getting it together on time. I actually did plan this one for Monday though due to my uncle's death last week. He was my last living uncle and he was 94 years old. He taught me how to ice skate many years ago. He was my Dad's youngest brother, and a bachelor his entire life. He lived a wonderful, long life, living on his own the entire time. I'll miss you, Gus! (I was never allowed to call him uncle, he said it made him feel old). R.I.P.

Here is Gus and I on Chartier's Creek, where he taught me how to skate. Actually, in this picture, I could already skate fairly well. He taught me when I was very, very young. He always had the ice ready for all us kids. Cleaned off of snow and debris from the trees, fire going so we could put our skates on by the fire. He had a seat there by the fire for putting on your skates. A radio was always on to music, because it was more fun to skate to the music. Winters were more bearable when you could skate through them!!!

Hope everyone has a wonder week ahead!!

Good Friday and an Old Quilt to Share With You Today

2012-02-24T07:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone. This is going to be hopefully a peaceful weekend, but it's too early to tell. They are saying snow is coming in after 4PM today and it is lake effect, which means that they have no idea how much we are going to get even when they say 1-2 and then 2-4 , it's only speculation. Does it matter to me? Not so much, it's the weekend, I am not forced to drive in it on a weekend, not that I mind it much, I love a challenge.

It's the Daytona 500 weekend as well. That means when it is snowing and cold outside, I can sit down and watch the race activities in beautiful, warm, Daytona Beach FL.

Today I'm going to show you a quilt that I promised to show you quite a while back. I finally took some pics. This quilt was given to Bernie and I when we got married, almost 35 years ago. It was given to us by his paternal grandmother, Agnes. She made lots of quilts and afghans, doilies, etc. She was quite the needlework person. This entire quilt was made by hand, no machine used. She handstitched each applique on the quilt and the overall stitching was done by hand also. I never asked her how long it took her to make one of these, but I bet it was quite a while. We used to have it hung on the wall at our old home in Pittsburgh, Bernie had made me a wooden wall quilt hanger and then we'd take it down, and put it away for a while. I just got it back out the other day and just threw it on the bed so I could take pictures. I think I'll leave it out for a while. It's nice to see and reminiscence of old times at Bernie's grandma's house.

So here are the pics.

This is the edging around the entire quilt. Picture isn't too, too good though.

One of my favorite appliques on this quilt, the flower basket.

Dixie wanted in on the pics, so I moved her to the quilt I made and took her picture one morning last week. She had red-eye, I tried to fix it, so it's not real good, but what I liked about this picture and I didn't see it before, but if you look to the left of Dixie, you can see the sunshine coming through the window and hitting the wall. You can see the tree branches in the sunlight.I love when this happens! No sunshine today though!! Have yourself a great weekend.

Another Friday, Missed The Last One and a Question for you?

2012-02-17T10:50:00.000-05:00

So sorry I missed you last Friday. I have been under the weather since last Thursday evening. Made it to work on Friday, just barely, and then was sick all weekend and even had to visit the Doc on Monday. Didn't go back to work until Wed and still am not at 100%, but at least I'm off today. I had planned a vacation day to have a super long weekend with President's Day on Monday, so I'll have more time to rest up and get totally well. It all started with a sore throat and I must say it was the worst one I have ever had, followed by headaches, sneezing, coughing, etc. Not pleasant.

There was one happy moment though so let me explain. Years ago, I had four penpals, I got them by reading a country decorating magazine and I wrote about myself and had gotten many letters, I wrote to them all and through the years I ended up with four regular writing penpals. One woman was elderly and she was from IN, one letter I just never got a reply, I tried a second time, neither letter was returned, but I had assumed she had passed.

Another penpal was from NJ, her name was Marlene, she worked in NYC for Leona Helmsley, yes, the Queen of Mean. She told me in a letter that she actually was a decent person to work for. Marlene commuted daily from NJ to NYC. She had had several miscarriages over the years we wrote, and she tried everything to get pregnant. She was in her 40's and so desperately wanted a child. The last letter I received from her was back in 2005 and she was so excited, she had conceived and was carrying twins. She had to spend most of her time in bed, but she didn't care, I was so happy for her and scared as well. I knew when she was due and never got a letter from her saying she had the twins. I wrote her and still no letter, I wrote her a second time, and still no letter. Neither were returned to me, so someone got them and chose not to write back. I pray that she has two wonderful children and she is just too busy to write to penpals, but my heart tells me differently. Marlene used to write me about 3-4 times a month, so you see my concern. So now I was down to two penpals.

Deb was a penpal whose husband had roots in Pittsburgh. She came to Pittsburgh once, but we were unable to hook up to meet and vowed to meet some other visit. She lived in Karlsruhe ND on a farm. We wrote at least once a month to one another, she telling me about their farm, the animals they had, their children, her husbands medical woes. She had some health issues herself, but they were minor to what her husband had, but they were running this farm. So back in 2008 around Thanksgiving time, I wrote to her and her letter was returned to me unable to forward (UTF), so I wrote a second time and once again UTF. I attempted to contact a fellow Postmaster there and all they told me was that they were no longer there and had moved on. How very strange for her not to tell me her new address. So I figured that I'd probably never hear from her again. Lo and behold, I received a letter in Saturday's mail and I was so excited it was from Deb. I held it in my hand just staring at the envelope and the address I didn't recognize in a town in ND. I opened it up and it was 6-pages long. She must have had so much to tell me and I began reading. I found out that she had a fire at their farmhouse on Dec 1, 2008, the home burnt to the ground, it was electrical in nature, but they had all made it out safely. She said that she had lost her address book in the flames, and here she found in the back of her wallet my address just recently. She forgot she had put it in there too. One week after that, her husband and her were driving in their van and hit an ice patch and rolled the van over several times, landing upright. She was knocked out and her husband had several broken bones, but they had both survived. Both of them continued to have health issues. His being the worse, he was in constant pain and one day in May of last year, he had a heart attack, and she had to make the choice to let him go. Finally, he was at peace. My heart sank when I read this. She told me she still owns the farm, and she can't part with it yet although people would want to buy it for the land. She lives in a small apartment in a small town alone. Her son was married, has a child, and divorced and is about to remarry. Her daughter has just purchased a house with her fiance, they are both about 45 minutes away from her. Her daughter and she always did craft shows together, she lost all her craft things and I'm not sure she even does that anymore.

I wrote back immediately, not wanting for her to think she had lost me as well. I can't wait to re-connect with her again and am looking for her next letter.

So my question to you is: Is there someone out there that you need to re-connect with? Perhaps a family member, a loved one, or a penpal from years gone by? Today is a great day to sit down and write that person a letter, or perhaps just a note. Reconnect before it is too late!!!

Oh yes, I almost forgot, my 4th penpal is alive and well, in Chandler AZ. We've been writing for 25 years, never met. She did remind me in her Christmas card that I owed her a letter. So guess what I'm doing this afternoon, you got it, I'm sitting down and writing her a letter. I'm sure she's been waiting for it.

I hope I didn't go on and on too much, but I just wanted everyone to hear this somewhat of a happy story and to hopefully make you think of someone you need to write to.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Finally Friday!!! Super Bowl Weekend

2012-02-03T07:29:00.000-05:00

I've made it, it's Friday and I'm posting on time. This is a huge accomplishment for me. Today we are supposed to see the sunshine, so it will kickoff a wonderful weekend! It's Super Bowl Weekend! I love watching football, you might find that odd for a gal, but I don't care who the teams are, I pick one and root for them. This year is no exception, I'm rooting for Eli Manning and his NY Giants. Sorry, New England Patriot fans, but I just can't stand your coach especially!! Nothing more than the fact that I find him rude and a very bad dresser for all the money the man makes you think he could find something to wear besides that awful sweatshirt thing or whatever it is. Come on, he should take a lesson from Tom Landry, the man knew how to dress.

OK, OK, I'm off that horse, but I wanted to share a couple little, quick recipes that I like to do for Super Bowl Sunday. Nothing elaborate, but great for a little get together or just by yourselves. Here goes.......

Pizza Burgers - Simple - 350 Degrees

Ground Meat - I prefer the less fat kind Ground Chuck
1 - 2 cans of the smaller size tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
Semi-hard rolls, can use just regular buns if you want
Mozzarella Cheese slices or even shredded works
Italian Seasoning or whatever spices you like, Basil, Oregano, Pepper, Salt

Brown the ground meat until done, pour off excess grease, add in the tomato sauce and paste. Mix in your spices. Stir and simmer a while making sure it doesn't burn. I usually cook it for about 15-20 minutes stirring quite a bit.

When it is done, cut your rolls in half. Put the meat mixture on the rolls, top with the Mozzarella cheese slices or sprinkle with the shredded.

Pop into the 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, I'd watch it though to make sure the cheese isn't burning. When the cheese begins to brown a little, take them out and enjoy.

I just serve ours with potato chips and pickles. Yummy!!!!!!!!!!

For that quick half-time snack, so you can all watch Madonna's half-time performance, I actually prefer to hear Danny Marino, Coach Cowher, (note they are both Pittsburghers,) highlight the first half and give their predictions on what the teams need to do in the second half to take home the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy. Who is Vince Lombardi, well, he was the best football coach ever and he coached the Green Bay Packers.

So here is my half-time snack.

Scoop size Fritos
Salami, Ham, Turkey, etc. (Some kind of luncheon meat)
American, Swiss, Mozzarella, Provalone Cheese (Whatever kind you like)

Just put some Fritos on a microwaveable plate, use the Fritos that are whole and have a nice dip in the middle, broken ones just eat while preparing. :) Smile!
Cut up the meat and cheese to fit in the dip in the chip.
Put the meat in then top with cheese.
Pop in the microwave for about 30 seconds or less until the cheese has melted nicely and serve.

I usually make up two plates at once. One is not enough, trust me. I usually do this before the game and put them in the refrig, that way you can just pull a plate out and never miss a play, a half-time, or one of those wonderful Super Bowl commercials.

So that's it for today's post. Have a Happy Friday and a Wonderful Super Bowl Weekend!! GO GIANTS!! GO ELI!!! GO COACH COUGHLIN!!! (Take note of how Coach Coughlin dresses for the game, much more professional than Coach Belichick.) Sorry, I got on that horse again!!

I didn't make it this weekon Friday, it's Sunday, oh wonderful Sunday!!

2012-01-29T12:12:00.000-05:00

I love a beautiful Sunday, the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and it's a tropical 35 degrees, with a slight dusting of snow on the ground. A beautiful day!!!!

Had to go grocery shopping today and what an awakening. I usually don't go big grocery shopping except maybe once every 5 or 6 weeks. I don't like to grocery shop, never have, never will, but learned today that I really despise it!! The cost of everything is over the roof!! My gosh, if you are not buying what is on sale, and have coupons for the items, then you are paying way, way too much!!

I used to be an avid couponer way back in our married life, and I am seriously considering trying my hand at it again. I remember walking out of a grocery store with five bags of groceries that I paid something like $15 for, using doubled coupons on sale items I was getting probably $60 worth of groceries for $15. I realized today, I need to begin this again.

I used to belong to some couponing and refunding clubs like Refund Bundle, and gosh, I can't remember the name of the other club. There would be trading of coupons galore there, I got what I needed and I supplied others with coupons they needed. I took advantage of refund items by sending in UPC symbols with mail-in rebate forms and I saved quite a bit.

So, I guess my best deal today was of course for a snack item, yummmmmmmm!! They had Nestle Nutty Buddy ice cream cones which are regularly $4.49 for 4 in a box, they had the large 8 in a box for $4.49. And I had a $1.00 coupon. I snatched up two boxes so that was 16 cones for approx. 50 cents each, regular would have been $1.12 each. So, I am happy, the only thing better would have been if I had 2 coupons, one for each of the two boxes. Now had I belonged to a coupon club, I might just have had that other coupon.

My question to you is does anyone belong to a coupon club? If so, which one, please share!!

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and a good week ahead!!!

I still made my Finally Friday post!! Just a little later than I had hoped for....

2012-01-20T20:37:00.001-05:00

Yes, it is 8:30 pm EDT, but it is still Friday, so I guess I'm making my post for today on time. :)

I had every intention of making it this morning, but then I remembered that I had to go into work early to do my stamp stock count and that had to be done before we opened up the window. I had taken what I thought were some pictures of Dixie in the snow in her sweater, and I was going to post them tonight, but since I took them without my glasses on, they ended up being movies and not pictures. To say the least, they were not good. So I have no pictures to post, nothing to write about except that we are supposed to get 3-5 more inches of snow overnight. The best part is I don't have to drive in it tomorrow to work, even though I do have 4-wheel drive. I really don't mind driving in snow. I find it a challenge, the sad part is you have to watch out for the other guy! Now I sound like I'm giving another safety talk, but we can't have enough of them. I give my carriers safety talks twice a week especially during the winter months.

I guess we will be hunkered down this weekend again, fine by me. I have a delightful Yorkshire Terrier dogs puzzle that I got for Christmas from Bryan and Jess (son and daughter-in-law) so I think I'll get it out on the dining room table and begin putting it together. I love puzzles, and seldom have time to do them.

As for the quilting, I'm not really motivated right now to quilt. I think I have so many things I want to quilt that I'm overburdening my mind and can't figure out what to begin with. Someday soon I hope to get back into the groove, and do a little quilting.

So I will leave you with a picture taken earlier in the week by my hubby. I really like it, winter at it's best!! Happy Weekend to all!!

YES!! It's Friday and I am doing my Finally Friday Post on Time!!!!

2012-01-13T07:12:00.000-05:00

Only problem is, that I don't know what to post about. The weather is lousy, it went from 42 degrees last evening to 15 degrees this morning. We have about 3" of snow on the ground, 3-5 more today, 4-6 more tonight, and more lake effect tomorrow. We could end up with over a foot! Wait, we just got rid of the other 8" that we had at our house last week. Oh well, it is winter in NW PA. The worst part this morning is the blowing, blinding snow. The winds have been howling through the trees all night. Kept me awake a bit too! But it is Finally Friday, and a long weekend for me. I am off work on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Wow! an extra day off to do what, let's see. How about quilt!! I had a few things I intended on having done for this past Christmas that I never got started. I think I will try to make it on Monday, or at least begin it. I'll share it if I get started.

Our tree is still up, and I still have one room totally decorated. These will all be taken down this weekend. Good weekend to stay indoors, looking out at the snow and frigid temps, and keep warm with some hot coffee, some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, under an afghan, pellet stove on, with some piping hot soup for dinner. Yep, I have a plan and it sounds like a good one to me!!

I wish everyone a wonderful pssst (Friday the 13th), I'm not saying that too loud for those of a superstitious nature! Here's hoping for a wonderful, uneventful, peaceful day.

"Let me in Mom, it's cold and snowy out here today and I'm not liking it much, Geez, where is my sweater, my coat, my boots, I am not prepared for this!!!"

I Missed another Friday Post - I'm So Bad at This!!

2012-01-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

Well, what can I say, another failed attempt for a "Finally Friday" post. You know all week I kept saying to myself, you better get it done, because you know what Friday night brings! Always busy or tired, or whatever, so I've missed yet another post. With out further ado, here it is...................

Home is where your heart is! It's where you hang your hat!! It's always on your mind!!! No, I'm not talking about our house, but where our roots are, where we came from, our hometown, Pittsburgh PA. Although I wasn't in Pittsburgh this past weekend, Bernie was and took this photo of Pittsburgh from the West End Overlook. Yep, this is Pittsburgh. Our hometown, born and raised there both of us, we will always call it home.

So, I wanted to share a picture and tell a little about what you are seeing.

The first thing that you see are the rivers. The one in the forefront is the Ohio River, the one shown going off to the left is the Allegheny River and the one to the right is the Monongahela River. Where the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River meet at the center to make the Ohio is called "The Point". You can see this right where the cluster of tall buildings are. "The Point" is a place to relax, sit by the water's edge and just chill out. You can't drive down there, but have to walk to sit yourself down on the many benches, you can listen to the sounds of the water the hustle and bustle of a big city. Watch the river boats motor by.

The tall buildings are a site itself, the tallest is called the USX Tower, I used to work in that building about 26 years ago. I worked on the 55th floor, for a public relations firm. The scariest part of working that high up was that we could see helicopters flying right outside our windows. When we heard a fire alarm in the building, we had to listen to how many bells would toll. This was the way we knew where the fire was and what floors would be evacuated. If I recall, it was ten above the fire and ten below the fire. Scary to look down and see fire trucks beside your building looking like ants and knowing somewhere there was a fire in the building. I never was evacuated though. Did get stuck in the elevator once for quite a while. The thing wouldn't level correctly, so the doors wouldn't open. Had to have rescue come and get us out. Oh, life in the big city. Fun, Scary, you bet!! but, home!!!

The bridge that you see is the West End Bridge, it connects the west side of the city to the north side. The large building(whitish) right behind the bridge is the new Rivers Casino. Been there, done that, won sometimes, mostly not, but a good time. Very beautiful casino inside and out. Fantastic views from the many restaurants inside. If you look at the bridge you can see a tug boat pushing some barges down the Ohio River, this is a common site in Pittsburgh.

At the rivers edge, slightly behind the casino is a long light colored object in the water, well that is the World War II USS Requiem submarine which is located at the Carnegie Science Center. I hope the link works.

Right behind that is the Home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, "Heinz Field" Called that due to the fact that H.J. Heinz was one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Pittsburgh. Yep, a huge ketchup bottle is there somewhere. And if you look right behind that stadium, you will see just the tall lights of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

From there, the buildings are USX Tower is the tallest, right in front of it with one little antenna is the Highmark Building, where my son works. The one to the right with the little spires it's corners is an all glass building, PPG Place, just a beautiful building. Home of Pittsburgh Plate Glass.

The bridge to the right is the Fort Pitt Bridge, you come through the Fort Pitt Tunnels and as you emerge out of the tunnel the City of Pittsburgh is before you. A truly beautiful site. The roadway along the right side is Carson Street, it runs along the Monogahela River a long ways. This is the road that will take you to Station Square, which is a nice place to visit.

Carson Street leads you to the South Side of Pittsburgh, an eclectic place of shops, eateries, etc. It is a unique place. Sidewalk cafe's, bars, entertainment, etc. South Side during the steel era, was nothing but steel mills all along the river. These have all been torn down and new modern buildings housing high tech businesses, offices, etc. are there now.

Well, I guess I have rambled on about this subject long enough. I hope you have enjoyed visiting Pittsburgh with me. My hometown, My Home!!!

Happy New Year - Giveaway Winner

2012-01-02T11:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I missed last Friday's post again. The holidays sure are a busy time. Today is my final day off work, much to do today, let's see Relax, Relax, Relax and finish up on some things I didn't get done. One of which is the giveaway for everyone who participated in the Fabric for Sue Campaign. There were 17 of us that participated in this campaign and it made such a huge difference for Sue. So without further ado, I had all the names on pieces of paper and I had Dixie pick the winning piece of paper. I spread them out and the first one she touched with her nose was the winner. And the winner is...........................

Suzanne Melkoski - How fitting that the prize goes to someone else named Suzanne. Dixie did a fine job. I'll be sending you your prize shortly as soon as I can get it all together for mailing.

Thanks to all of you that contributed. Sue has asked me for everyone's addresses, I have most of your mailing addresses, but if you'd like to send me your email, I'm sure that would be appreciated, or your blogging address. I'm sure she'd like to check out all your blogs.

So, as the snow flies here in NW Pennsylvania, can get up to 2' of snow through tomorrow, UGH!!!! Til next time, have a wonderful start to 2012!!

Last Friday's Post -- Finally!!

2011-12-28T08:56:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is having a Very Merry Christmas! I'm a little late on my post from last Friday. Sorry!!!

This was our first Christmas eve at home in a very long time. Bernie and I actually enjoyed it very much. We opened our presents to each other and had a really nice evening. Chilled out, rested, knowing that Christmas day would be a whirlwind day of events.

I love reading Christmas cards, here I am reading the one from Bernie! I save all my cards, don't know why, but I have every one that Bernie has ever given to me. You may think that they just sit in a box somewhere, but I get them out often during the year, just to read of Christmas' Past. I even have a special card that my Dad gave to my Mom from him and "The Kids". This card is over 50 years old. I'll have to take a picture of it one day and post it, it is so beautiful. The craftsmanship of cards past was extraordinary! I should probably preserve it some way, but I wouldn't know where to begin. I think I just like the thought that my Dad held this card in his hand, wrote inside with a pencil, and then my Mom opened and read it. This is special.

I hope that you made your Christmas special this year; if not, there is still time! I can't stand that the radio stations begin playing Christmas songs at Thanksgiving, and then at midnight on Christmas Day, poof!!!!!!!!!! The songs are gone, back to regular programming on Dec 26th. Wait!! Isn't this still Christmas, why did the music stop, we are all still celebrating, aren't we??? And don't get me started on those people that take down their tree the day after, and un-decorate. It's like, I got my presents, it's over, now back to normal! I'm sorry, but the Epiphany isn't until 12 days after Christmas which falls on Jan 6th this year, but is celebrated on the Sunday, Jan 8th. The Epiphany is the day the Three Kings or Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem to visit our Lord, yes, it took them 12 days to get there, they came bearing gifts to the Newborn King!! So you see, Christmas is far from over. It's still OK to wish people a Merry Christmas!! With that, I continue to wish you all a Merry Christmas!!

My Visit with Sue on Friday

2011-12-18T20:36:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to update everyone who participated in the Fabric for Sue Campaign. I assembled the basket on Friday and took it to Sue on my lunch hour. I pulled up the driveway and she must have seen me get out of the truck because she opened the door right as I got to it. She was cooking her lunch on the stove. When I walked in, she said what is that, I said it was for her. She gave me a funny look like what is in that garbage bag, yes, I had it in a clear garbage bag, it was snowing a little or drizzling a bit and I didn't want it to get wet.

When I uncovered it, I explained about our little group of women who blog about quilting and such, and that we all decided to work on a little project to help her get through this tough time and to get her back to quilting again.

I asked her how she had been doing, and she said she is in no pain whatsoever, she's beginning to lose her hair a bit and she was depressed! I told her that if that was all that happens that she loses her hair, who cares, it will grow back when she's finished with her treatments. I told her she needed to get busy sewing to take her mind off of it. There are too many of us out there praying for her recovery as well as for her to get back into doing something she loves.

One package contained a little log cabin potholder, like an ornament, so cute, I told her I needed to know how to make these as I would like to do a tree of them. She said she had a book on just Christmas ornaments and she would find it for me so we could look at the ornaments. I said great, once she found it, we could take a look and she could help me make some of those for next years tree.

By this time, she and I had shed a few tears and a big hug, and we realized we smelt something burning, yep, you guessed it, it was her lunch, she said not to worry, she'd start over. She just kept looking at the basket, crying a little, I told her there were notes, lots of fabric, homemade gifts, etc. I told her there was no reason to be depressed; we were all pulling for her, and she had her afternoon to relax, look in the basket, figure out what she was going to make and look through the quilting magazines.

By that time, I had to get back to work, but I felt so good and I want to thank all 17 of us that participated in this campaign. Please keep praying for Sue. BTW, she couldn't believe all the people from different states that participated and she couldn't believe two of the gift packages came all the way from the UK. She was so appreciative.

So here is what I gave to her. I took a few pictures. God Bless you all and have a good week.

Finally Friday S-D-S Three Things On My Mind Today

2011-12-16T06:32:00.000-05:00

Firstly, I joined The Secret Santa Soiree over at Colorado Lady's blog a while back and I got my present the other day. I want to thank my Secret Santa so very much. She is sent me everything I love. I received a Jim Shore Snowman Ornament, I collect Jim Shore, so this was perfect. Also, a Subway gift card, yum!!! Some beautiful Christmas fabric, just adorable. Yankee Candles Christmas Wreath, I am burning these slowly so they last, what a fragrance, love it! York Peppermint Candy, the chocolate you can eat without feeling too, too guilty! All wrapped up in a beautiful little Santa bag. Thanks again, I'm trying to figure out who my Secret Santa is before they review the name, but so far my only clue is she is from New Market AL. I read the Postmark, that is what Postmasters do. Merry Christmas to you!!

Second on my list, is Today is Dixie's 13th birthday! She doesn't look a year over one! She's our baby so lots of tummy rubs, Yorkie Kissies, and lots of treats for her today. This picture makes her look like a devil dog, hmmm, every now and then she is! :)

and last but not least, the Fabric for Sue Campaign is now over. Those that I was waiting for have arrived. I want to thank everyone for your generosity, the gifts of fabric and other goodies for Sue are phenomenal, beautiful, gorgeous, etc. I actually had a hard time finding a basket that wasn't Christmas. I just got it last evening, so I haven't gotten it packed up yet, but will do so today and I will take a picture to post here so you can see it later on this weekend. She is going to be so surprised!! She is doing well and will have her next chemo on Monday, thus why I wanted to get it to her today. Once again, thank you all, I can never thank you enough. Quilters are the best!!! Blessings to all of you and please keep her in your prayers! Love ya!!

With that, I wish you a Happy Friday, Wonderful Weekend, and again and I can't say it enough. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Weekend Brief

2011-12-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

Oh my, what a weekend it has been. We got our tree Friday evening, a 7' Frasier Fir, it is so beautiful and smells so good. We made it look like an old fashioned tree this year. Rag garland, old time ornaments, red and green, and lots of those silvery icicles that we used to adorn our tree with when we were younger. Here's a picture, I still don't have the underneath completed, but the tree is done.

I spent then entire day on Saturday, making us breakfast, doing laundry, decorating the tree, wrapping a few packages, until late in the evening. I did watch some of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on TV and then I was beat. I knew that Sunday would be the same.

I began bright and early wrapping presents, I had an entire room setup to do this, well, setup might not be a good word. I had a card table, wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, name tags, and tape, lots of it. I began wrapping, and continued wrapping, took a break for breakfast, went back to wrapping, had lunch, back to wrapping again, and then took a pizza break, and then back to wrapping. Finally, at 7 PM I called it quits. You might ask what all the wrapping was about. Well, I have to wrap each package, color coordinate it to the person, then make sure each package has ribbon, bows, and a name tag. This takes me a very long time. So, now that I'm finished with that, all I have left to do is write my cards. It's my favorite thing to do!!!

Have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you again on Friday!!

Finally Friday and a Day Off!!!

2011-12-09T07:03:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, Finally Friday. So today I took the day off work to finish my Christmas shopping. Still have a few presents to find, but with working at the Post Office, I won't get another day off until after Christmas.

There is just one little issue, to throw a monkey wrench into my planned day, and I mean well-planned day --it is snowing! Not a lot yet, but we are to get 1-3 and another 2-5 after 3:00 pm and we are in this advisory until 4:00 am tomorrow morning. So, I'm up early, have a few presents to wrap this morning, so hubby doesn't see them. I've been in the garage already and gotten the tree stand, some other decorations and it's only 6:44 am. Yep, we're getting a real tree this year. We haven't had one in a long while, and we both love the scent of fresh pine. So tonight we will bundle up, get in the 4x4 truck, and go get our Fraser Fir tree. A little hot chocolate, and the evening will be perfect!!

I still love the snow, and I really don't mind driving in it as long as I have my 4X4. I liked to sled ride as a kid, but my favorite was ice skating. After school, we'd all go down to the pond and ice skate all evening. Had a big bonfire at the pond, parents would bring us hot dogs and hot chocolate, and we'd skate long into the dark especially on Friday nights. I lived in my skates, been skating since I was 4 years old. My Dad's brother, Gus, taught me how to skate on the creek that ran behind his house. Gus is now 96 years old, I visited him this summer and he is still going strong, planting flowers in his yard. We talked about the old days, skating on the creek. He's a great guy!! A few years back, I actually stopped after work, went into a rink, rented some skates, and skated for a couple hours. Was a little shaky at first, but before I left I was going backwards and doing cross overs. Won't try jumping anymore, probably would have bad circumstances at my age! :)

Dixie was at the groomer on Wed night, she got her Christmas hair cut, not too short, because winter is here and she gets so cold out there in the snow. We were just out checking the weather, and she ran right back for the door. Guess the snow doesn't fit well with her. Here's another picture, her groomer put a red bow on her collar, but as usual she looked away so all I got was the bow!!!

Update on Sue, she's doing well, her hubby tells me, she's mostly just tired, no sickness, thank goodness! I am still getting packages of fabric, thank you all so much. I'm getting the basket today to put it all in. When I have it finished, I'll take a picture to post here. She will be so surprised! I love doing things for people, and I think I'm just as excited as I hope she will be when she receives this bundle of hope! Keep the prayers coming for her too!!

Well, got to get going on my planned day. It's 7:00 am, and my schedule begins --- wish me luck!! I'm gonna need it!!

Finally Friday - December Already?

2011-12-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

I just can't fathom that it is already December, and we really haven't had any snow yet. Hope I am not jinxing us up here in NW Pennsylvania. I can't get in the Christmas spirit without snow though. I'm already getting Christmas cards, and I have no decorations out yet. I did, just this morning, get out the nativity set, and a half of a tree. You see, I put a tree in every room, yes, even the bathrooms. I need to get busy this weekend and get things decorated around here. I don't write Christmas cards until the tree is in the living room and the fireplace is on, then I'm in the spirit. Afghan on my lap and cards on the sofa, begin writing!!! I hope this weekend is a good one for you too!!

Update on Sue. She had her first chemo treatment and it was 6 hours long. They had activities for them to do while they waited. They had dogs brought in to cheer the people, and they were making ornaments for Christmas. She was given a wig, because we all know what happens when you get Chemo. Her husband has been filling me in daily on her progress and so far, so good. She is doing well. I've received about nine packages and you all are so generous. I'm waiting to see what size basket I'll need. I still plan on giving it to her on Dec 15th, this will be before her next treatment and she should feel pretty good before she goes again. As soon as I have it all together, I'll post a picture. Thanks again to all who are participating and I'll accept fabric up until the 15th. Thanks also for your prayers. God Bless You All!

Finally Friday - A Day Late

2011-11-26T20:20:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am a day late for my Finally Friday post. No, I didn't go shopping at midnight Thanksgiving night to get all those Black Friday bargains, didn't buy one Christmas present at all. We went to visit family back home and work on our old house that we currently have for sale.

Thanksgiving was great!! We went out to dinner at the local Italian Casual Restaurant. We had a Turkey and Ham buffet and it was good, not as good as if I prepared it, but I also didn't have to spend my entire day cooking and cleaning up for just the two of us. We were able to come back home and watch some football and a movie and most of all relax.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now to take down all those Fall decorations and get ready for Christmas.

Thank you to everyone participating in the Fabric Campaign for Sue, I've received four parcels already, and the fabric is beautiful, and the little extras are great too! I'll post a picture of the basket once I have everything in there and have it ready to deliver to Sue. She is going to be so surprised and I just know that it will help her enormously!! Keep her in your prayers please, Monday she begins her chemo. I'll keep you posted! Thanks and hugs to all!!

This Past Weekend was to be a Sewing Weekend

2011-11-22T19:07:00.000-05:00

If you recall from a few posts ago, I was going to spend last weekend sewing. Well, we ended up visiting with family one day, so I only had one day to sew, do laundry, clean, etc., but I did manage to get two table runners done. These will be Christmas presents, so I can checkoff two gifts done.

Now with this weekend being Thanksgiving, and it's an extra long weekend, I intend on getting some more sewing done at some point. On another note-----------------

The "Fabric for Sue Campaign" has begun and I'm hoping to fill a basket full of fabric for her by December 15th. I may have to extend this a bit since I have some wonderful quilters from across the pond contributing to the cause. If you would like to find out about this campaign, or would like to blog about it, please feel free to do so. She is a very special person. You can read about this campaign on the left-hand side at the top of my blog. Thanks again to everyone and God Bless You all! Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Fabric for Sue Campaign - Additional Info

2011-11-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

First of all, thank you everyone for wanting to help me with sending fabric for Sue. I'm thinking she would probably like fabric of 100% cotton or something similar in the colors of blue, red, or cream colors. Nothing too bright, something countryish, or victorian, as she lives in this type of home.

What I plan on doing is to make up a basket with all the fabric in it with our notes of inspiration with our name, city and state pinned to the fabric. I'll purchase some thread to match all the fabric and include those into the basket. I'll do something creative with the spools of thread, maybe make flower stems.

Since I have a PO Box at the Post Office where I work, I'll have all the fabric come there and then I can assemble the basket and I'd like to get it give it to her by Dec 15th. She will be having four chemo treatments spanning 12 weeks. By that time she will have had two treatments and will need some cheering up!

Here is my PO Box address: Debbie Meyer PO Box 33 Conneautville PA 16406-0033

I was going to use my home address, some of you may already have that and it is fine to send it there, but I figured my PO Box would be better to use out here in blogland.

Thank you all so much for helping me with this! She is going to be so surprised. Quilters are the best! Don't forget, I'll be entering your name into my giveaway as my way of thanking you for helping me cheer up Sue. Please say a prayer for her recovery!!

Fabric for Sue Campaign - Second Post for Today - Giveaway Too!!

2011-11-18T19:57:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my other post today, my quilting mentor, Sue, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She will begin Chemo the Monday after Thanksgiving. She is very sad and scared as you could only imagine. She had a sister who passed from this disease several years ago.

Sue is an avid quilter, as I've said, she has taught me so much and taken me under her wing to teach me. When I first moved here, before my husband was able to join me here, I was all alone. I was driving to work one day, and my vehicle died. I had no one, nor did I really know anyone to help me. I called the office and told them I was going to be late and that I didn't know how I was going to get there, but I was going to have my vehicle towed to the garage and I'd try to get a rental. Her husband said nonsense, "I'll have Sue pick you up and bring you to work." She did just that and we talked all the way to my work. So when I found out she knew how to quilt, I asked if there was a quilting group anywhere, and she said their was and I met her there on Wednesdays during my lunch hour and that is when she taught me how to quilt. When I am having trouble with a quilt, I go visit her and she is always there for me and now I want to be there for her.

So what I am putting together is something that will put a smile on her face. I'm asking for you to open your heart and stash and send some fabric for Sue to get her quilting again, it can be a fat quarter, some squares, whatever. Please pin a note to the fabric with an inspirational message. Please include your name and city and state to the note.

Please feel free to share this with other quilters too or blog about it. If you cannot send some fabric, please pray for her speedy recovery. If you are interested in helping out, please leave me a comment, and I'll send you my email address where you can send your fabric with note too. I'd like to give this to Sue by December 15th.

Everyone who participates will be entered into a drawing for a lovely "I Love to Quilt" necklace and some other goodies.

Quilters are wonderful people. Thanks again from Debbie and Dixie Too!

Finally Friday - A Weekend to Sew!!

2011-11-18T07:34:00.000-05:00

I've decided that this weekend will be a sewing weekend. I told Bernie last night, this weekend is a me weekend. I'm going down to the sewing area and sew until I can't stand it anymore, which won't happen!!

I have quite a few projects to get done, some table runners for Christmas gifts, some zipped purses, some fabric wreaths...............I think I'm going to need longer than the weekend, perhaps again over Thanksgiving weekend, if I can get Friday off. I'm working on it!!!

I wanted to share the very first thing I made when I began to learn how to quilt. One of my employee's wives, took me under her wing and began teaching me the basics of quilting. She had me use Eleanor Burns Quilt In a Day Book which was Log Cabins. There are so many ways to put Log Cabin blocks together for a totally different look each time. What I am showing you is my one and only block at the time. I use it as a little trivet on my little table in the kitchen. I'll never put it away. It took me quite a while to perfect it, but there it is.

I'm showing this piece today in honor of Sue, my fabulous quilt instructor. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will be starting chemo the Monday after Thanksgiving. I wanted to do something for her, maybe collect some fabric squares or fat quarters, or whatever to enhance her stash. Something to keep her mind from her ills and get her sewing again, but since I only have a few regular followers, I don't think her stash would grow much. So, I'm asking you, if you have the time, to please say a prayer for my quilting mentor and friend, Sue. Prayer is Powerful!! Thanks and have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you, Sandi!

2011-11-17T07:36:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to send out a special thanks to Sandi from Legacy of Stitches for the wonderful giveaway that I recently won! I absolutely love the fabrics and the card was darling. I plan on using the fabric to make a cute little purse. I'll share when I have it completed.

Thanks again, Sandi, for all the giveaways you blog. You are one awesome lady and I love what's on the line!

Finally Friday!!! Oh My!!

2011-11-11T17:23:00.000-05:00

I'd like to start off my post today wishing all the veterans a Happy Veteran's Day. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. I appreciate you!!!

This morning since it was Veteran's Day, and I'm a federal worker, had the day off. I awoke to this!!!

Our First Snowfall of the Season!! I cleaned about 3" of snow from the roof of my truck before I could begin my day of shopping.

As you can see, Dixie wasn't a happy camper when I took her outside. She quickly went out and quickly came back in. She was shivering cold. I'll have to put her sweater on next time. She didn't like it one bit!

So, I ventured out to do some shopping. I stopped by a quilting shop and found this kit. I was so excited. I tried to find this the last time I was at the shop and they didn't have anything like it. I had seen this made up at my local favorite country store and they wanted $26 for it already made up. I looked at it and said I could make this, if only I had a pattern. Lo and behold, there on the counter was a kit. They had just made them up, I quickly grabbed one and made my purchase. It would make a lovely cosmetic or even a large change purse.

Also, at the shop, I found some wonderful fabric that I think my Secret Santa Swap partner would just love, so I purchased four fat quarters. I hope she likes it! There was a small quilt there made out of this fabric and it was so pretty.

I also found this cute little purse tablet with flowers on the cover. I think she will like that too! This is from my favorite little country store.

Last but not least, I stopped in the local hardware because I needed a bottle of Elmer's Glue All, you know the kind that you can use on crafts and when you glue it is white, but it dries clear. I wanted to make a fabric wreath and needed a large bottle. Do you think the hardware would have it? Well, no, I bought the last bottle they had of it and it is 1.25 oz. I doubt that will be enough. I'll need to get more somewhere.

The highlight of my day though was picking up lunch for my hubby and me. I met him at his place of employ, and we sat in the truck during his lunch 1/2 hour and ate an Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich for lunch. Then it was time to head home. I had a fun day today.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Volant PA with a friend, Ann. We've gone there the past two years, it's lots of fun. It's a small, quaint, village of shops, the Christmas Carolers, the strolling band, and shopping galore!! It's a fun day out. Hope you have something planned fun this weekend!!

Finally Friday - Sometimes you just need to stop...........

2011-11-04T07:32:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just need to stop and appreciate the beauty and serenity of the day.
Seems that every day I arise just to hurry and get ready to drive myself the 14 miles to work. I tend to not pay much attention to the beauty of my surroundings, after all I do the same thing day in, day out.

So on Wednesday morning this week, I took Dixie out and noticed how beautiful the sky was becoming, hadn't noticed it before. So before I stepped out the door to head to work, I grabbed the camera and what I captured was just beautiful.

This was sunrise over Pymatuning Lake. I travel across this lake every day. This particular place I stopped at for the pictures is a tourist area where the ducks walk on the fish back. I very much mean this, but at this time in the morning the ducks were absent, still sleeping and swimming far off the shore. This is the second most visited place in Pennsylvania, the first being the Gettysburg Battlefield.

After capturing the sunrise, I focused on the seagulls. They were flying around, probably hoping I brought some cheese balls, they just love those things, but I wasn't there too feed them this time around. They were all sitting on the railing. Some were just waking up, others were still fast asleep and the closest one in this next pic. He has his head tucked under his wings.

These pictures were taken on one side of the lake and this one is of the opposite side.

Many people travel here from all over the United States and Canada just to see the beauty of this area. Something that I once saw and now take for granted. I don't ever want to do this again. Each day I'm going to drive a little slower and sometimes stop to feed the fish and ducks and oh yes, the seagulls and truly appreciate the beauty of my new home. Have a wonderful weekend!!

Finally Friday, It's that time of year........................

2011-10-28T07:43:00.000-04:00

For Ghosts and Goblins and Long-Legged Beasties and Things That Go Bump In The Night!!!

It will be Halloween here on October 31st. Although where I live had their trick or treating done last night. These people up here are just weird, they don't even know that Halloween is on Halloween. Guess you have to be city folk to understand this. Pittsburgh it is on Oct 31st, Erie is on Oct 31st.

So we carved our pumpkin, a tough skinned one too. Bernie got it on his way home for only $1, yep, what a steal. Since these people think Halloween is now over, they are discounting their pumpkins. Yeah! for us.

So after cleaning it of its pulp and seeds, I made some of these.

Here is my recipe. Rinse and drain the seeds. Put them in a pot 1/2 cup seed add 2 cups water for each. Then 1/2 Tablespoon of salt for each cup of water. If you like your seeds salty, I'd add almost double the salt. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Spread 1 Tablespoon of olive oil on a cookie sheet, arrange seeds single layer and bake at 400 degrees for 10-20 minutes. Depends how toasted you like them, I did 15 minutes and they turned out great. Enjoy and Happy Halloween.

Sunday, Snowy Sunday!!

2010-12-05T19:36:00.000-05:00

We awoke this morning to a blanketing of snow!! This first picture of the bird feeder in our backyard with the cardinals eating was taken at 8:30 am, it is now almost 8:00 pm and we have approximately 11" on the ground. Snowmobiles are riding down our street, only sharing it with snowplows. We are in a lake effect snow warning until Tuesday night at 7:00 pm. The lake effect is coming off of Lake Huron and then down to Lake Erie and the winds are blowing it inland to us. Up along the lake isn't getting as much as we are. It is beautiful though.

The second shot is a beautiful bridge at Pymatuning State Park. This photo was taken about two years ago after a light snow and the sky was crystal clear blue. This is one of my favorite pictures and I just happened upon it tonight so I thought I'd share it with you.

This weekend was a decorate the house weekend, I worked from early Saturday morning until just after dinnertime tonight when I called it quits for now. I still have a little more to do, but I'll have time this week to finish up. I have to have everything done before I begin the wrapping of presents, and the writing of Christmas cards. Oh, yes, I still have some presents to make as well. It's going to be a busy week ahead. Have a fantastic evening and I'll be back here real soon.

FRIDAY!!!!

2010-12-03T06:07:00.000-05:00

The weekend is upon us, it's been a long, long week. Much to do this weekend. This is the night I put up our Christmas tree. Yes, it's a fake one, but I like to leave it up until the end of January and a real one just wouldn't make it. I kind of had a weird Christmas tradition, going back many years. When NASCAR has it's banquet on television, that is when I put up the tree. I watch the banquet speakers, they are mostly the top 10 racers in the series, and decorate it. So tonight is the night for that. Maybe once I get all this decorating done, I can get back to crafting again. I still have much to do.

I leave you with a couple pictures from yesterday morning, the blotches are actually snowflakes in the camera flash. Kinda neat!! I'm just glad I don't live near Buffalo NY where they got 27". I'll take the inch or so we got although they are saying about 2-4" are possible today. Guess this is why I drive a 4-WD truck!!! Happy Friday, Happy Weekend! ENJOY!!

Last Weekend was a busy one!

2010-12-02T07:28:00.000-05:00

Last weekend our son, Bryan and his wife, Jess, were up for a visit. While they were here I talked them into going to a house in the nearby town, Meadville. This house is called the Baldwin-Reynolds House/Museum, built in 1843. This was a retirement house purchased by Henry Baldwin who was a United States Supreme Court Justice. Unfortunately, he passed away a year later. His wife leased the house to a Female Seminary for three years after that, then after the end of the lease the property was purchased by William Reynolds. In 1846 the Reynolds family moved in. Reynolds was a lawyer, businessman, first Mayor of Meadville. Just a bit of it's history.

Anyway, it was opening night of their semi-annual Christmas display, and the place was jammed packed full of people. Let's say, it wasn't that fun. It was titled, "A Pennsylvania Christmas." There were many trees decorated beautifully, hemlocks, spruces, some were decorated using Coal Mining ornaments, some toys all manufactured in PA, now that's a rarity in itself that they didn't all say China! Anyway, since it was a museum, you weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but Bryan did get a few shots of the outside looking in, so I'd like to share these with you today. Have a wonderful Thursday, and hang in there, the weekend is getting close!!!

I did it again, hit the enter when I should have hit the tab key

2010-11-29T05:38:00.002-05:00

Will I ever learn not to do that, well, it is Monday morning at 5:39 am, so I guess you will forgive me. We had a very wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Visited with family, had two delicious meals, Bryan and Jess visited us, we went to a couple places which I'll touch on later in the weeks blog. I've been slacking lately posting and I do apologize.

So here is some of what I've been doing crafty wise. Here is a picture of three of the pinecone fabric balls. I'm getting better each one that I do, they are an easy project that you can do while you watch a movie or TV. I need to make a couple more so I have enough to fill up a bowl and make a nice display of them. Knitty Gritty Thoughts has this idea on her blog with step-by-step instructions. Thank you Knitty Gritty!!!

I've also gone back to working on my tablerunners. Remember, I am a Gemini and flit from project to project, you just don't know what I might do next, and neither do I at the moment!! :)

Well, one thing I do know is that today is my early day and I have to begin work soon, so HIHO HIHO It's off to work I GO!!! Have a fantastic Monday everyone! Don't forget it's Cyber Monday, a great day to Christmas shop!!!

Good Monday Morning after Thanksgiving!

2010-11-29T05:38:00.001-05:00

Rainy Days and Mondays Again!!!!

2010-11-22T19:18:00.000-05:00

Yes, we had another Rainy Day on a Monday, but we'll take it because it's not the white stuff that will soon be here in NW PA.

I haven't posted for a few days, sorry. I've been trying to on-line Christmas shop, clean the house, and get some crafty projects done.

I'd first like to thank my Secret Santa person, Michelle from L7 Quilt Co for the very beautiful candle mat and candle dish as well as some yummy caramel Hershey's Kisses. She must have read my blog or read my mind because it is absolutely gorgeous and it's the perfect colors for my home as well as it has pinecone fabric. It is so me!!! Thanks again, Michelle, I absolutely love it!!!

Well, I just about finished up the table runners, I've slowed down a bit on those and have been working on a new project. I'm making pinecone balls out of fabric. It's fun and it's something I can sit down and watch TV and do. So far, I've made two and will be doing another tonight. Once I get those completed, I'll be posting a picture of them. I think I'll just put them in a bowl and perhaps add some pine scent to them, and you'll never guess what kind of fabric I'm making them out of.......Pincone fabric, of course!! Hope you have a wonderful Monday evening. Til Next Time........

Windy Wednesday in NW PA

2010-11-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

Good Morning everyone. What a windy day I've awoken to! They are saying it's going to last until 4PM and we could have gusts of 50 mph. Geez! Guess all the leaves on the trees will be blown away today.

I have a few more pictures of our Volant trip to share today. They are of a quilting/sewing nature. The first is a very old Singer sewing machine, my Mom used to have one of these, my sister-in-law has it now, the second one is just one that I admired and the third one, well gets us into the Christmas Holiday mood. So here they are, I hope you enjoy seeing them and have a wonderful day!

Time does fly....

2010-11-16T07:29:00.000-05:00

Let see when I last posted we, my friend Ann and I, were off to Volant Mills for a day of shopping. We had a very fun day, browsing shops, purchasing some Christmas presents, some for ourselves too! I took a few pictures, but Ann is the real photographer, her pictures are awesome compared to mine, but what the heck, here they are. The winery, and the huge barn type shop. I'll have more pics to share next time,there was some lovely quilts in a couple shops that I took pics of. I'm off to work now. Til next time......

Why do I always hit the enter key too early????

2010-11-12T20:31:00.002-05:00

I type in the title and hit enter and there it goes, another post with only a title. Some day I'm going to get the hang of this blog thingy! It's Friday night and after a grueling day at work, bombarded by mail and customers since we had yesterday off for Veteran's Day at the Post Office, I finally staggered home and just plopped myself down on the sofa and looked at catalogs all night. I went to my sewing area and picked up a few new fabrics to see what they would match with well, and that was it. So much for sewing tonight.

I'm trying to rest up because tomorrow is my big Christmas shopping trip with my friend, Ann, to Volant PA where they have a whole bunch of specialty country type shops just jam packed full of snowmen, Santas, and Christmas items in general. This is the second year that Ann and I have embarked on this town, and we just can't wait to get there tomorrow morning bright and early when they open. It will be a fun day of laughs, getting craft ideas, buying some presents, and just having a girls day out! No sewing tomorrow, that's for sure, oh maybe on Sunday. Have a great evening and enjoy your weekend.

The weekend is here!!

2010-11-12T20:31:00.001-05:00

Picture of the Secret Santa Swap Quilting Necklace

2010-11-11T15:31:00.000-05:00

For some reason, the picture of the quilting necklace that Jess made for my swap person for me didn't come up on my last post. So I'm trying it again.

If anyone is interested in a necklace like this one, or a special charm necklace or earrings, hop on over to Jess' Etsy Shop - Treasured Charms at http://www.etsy.com/shop/treasuredcharms I'm sure you'll find something for every gal on your Christmas list. By the way Jess, I'm going to be needing another one of these necklaces for a giveaway I'm going to do on my blogspot!!

The Much Awaited Revealing of............

2010-11-11T15:14:00.000-05:00

My Secret Santa Swap project. I belong to the Charming Girls Quilting Club and decided to enter my very first swap, so I've been preparing something for the Secret Santa Swap that Joan Tuft is sponsoring. So without further ado..... here is my gift to one of you out there. You will notice that there is an added surprise to my quilted gift because I'm not the best quilter in the world just yet, and besides I always like to do something extra special especially when the holidays are here. So here it is, I hope my person loves them both as much as I have had quilting the table runner and asking my daughter-in-law, Jess, to make the necklace for me. In case you can't read it, it is a quilt charm with a heart in the middle and it says "I Love Quilting." Thank you Jess for making this necklace for me.

If anyone is interested in a necklace like this one, or a special charm necklace or earrings, hop on over to Jess' Etsy Shop - Treasured Charms at http://www.etsy.com/shop/treasuredcharms I'm sure you'll find something for every gal on your Christmas list. By the way Jess, I'm going to be needing another one of these necklaces for a giveaway I'm going to do on my blogspot!!

Veteran's Day - Thursday, November 11, 2010

2010-11-11T09:18:00.001-05:00

Happy Veteran's Day to all the veterans today! I'd especially like to thank three special people in my life on this Veteran's Day today for their service to our country and to me personally giving me the freedoms that I have today. My two brothers served in Vietnam, Bill in the Navy, and Jack in the Army, I salute you and also my father-in-law, Bernie, served in Korea in the Army. Thanks to all the veterans.

Today will be a day of quilting for me and visiting my local country store for hopefully, some Christmas shopping.

I may post some pics later on of my quilting, so come back again later.

Good Wednesday Morning!

2010-11-10T05:42:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone, hope you all had a great Tuesday. Let's see, today is Wednesday and I'm off to work as usual, but there is good news, I'm off tomorrow for Veteran's Day. What's even better is that I'll have some time to sew more of my Christmas Table Runners. Thus far, three are completely done, I have four to do the edges on yet. I'll take pics tomorrow. I have to post my picture of what my Secret Santa Swap partner will be receiving. There will be an added gift as well as the quilted gift, since I'm a beginner at the quilting thing.

Also tomorrow, I'm going to visit our local country store were she has wonderful primitives, and country decor. She has her Christmas stock out now, and I'm anxious to see what she has done with the shop. This gal is a decorating genius, her place is so inviting that you just want to sit down in the chair there and chat or just stay a while. The place is called "Treasured Gifts", her name is Patty, and it's located in Linesville PA. This is where the "Ducks Walk on the Fish Back." If you ever heard of it! It is like the second most visited site in PA.

Well, off to work, let's get this one in the books and move on to a wonderful day tomorrow. You have a great day today as well.

It's Monday....Need I Say More?

2010-11-08T05:30:00.000-05:00

This is the first full week of November, already? Did you do anything exciting this weekend? My weekend was pretty nice, but not uneventful. First on Friday night Bernie and I got stuck in a blinding snowstorm for about 10 minutes on our way home from Home Depot. Saturday was a clean the house type day, you have to understand, once I get started cleaning, I don't stop, so there went Saturday. Sunday was the best day of all. We went out to breakfast at Kings and then to the grocery store, then came back home.

I finally had a little time to sew, so I got two of my Christmas table runners completed, but I'm not real happy with my corners, can someone tell me what the best way to round corners is? I purchased this Simplicity Bias Tape Machine and I love it, but the corners give me trouble. If you haven't seen one of these machines, you simply cut 2" strips, sew them together and feed them through this metal guider which takes the fabric and folds each side into the center of the strip and then runs it over a hot iron plate and voila, you have a bias strip. All you have to do then is put it around the sides of the piece your making and sew it on, but those CORNERS!!! I need to figure out the best, cleanest way to do this. If anyone knows the proper way to do this, please let me know.

I ended the day on Sunday with a little NASCAR race watching, and then a little football watching, and just chilling out with Bernie and Dixie. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!

AccuQuilt Go! Giveaway

2010-11-07T11:29:00.002-05:00

Hop on over to Lavender Ridge, Linda is giving away an AccuQuilt Go! Fabric Cutting System with 3 die. Thanks, Linda.

2010-11-07T11:29:00.001-05:00

Good Friday Morning!

2010-11-05T07:31:00.001-04:00

Just a couple thoughts for the day. Firstly, you made it through the week, now it's sewing time again. The weather here in NW PA is calling for snow tonight and some tomorrow, could get possibly 2", so what to do, SEW!!! I'll be finishing up 7 table runners, possibly cutting out a few more, and then trying to organize my quilting area using ideas I acquired this morning from "Stash Manicure" blog. They have some great ideas there, check them out if you have a chance. Other projects this weekend, hubby is going to work on getting my rolltop desk drawer to slide better. Home Depot has some really nice slides to put on the side of the drawers, so no more of having the drawers drop out of the desk on my toes. These are great projects for a cold, snowy, weekend. Of course, we'll be having Indian Summer next week when it goes back up to 60 degrees. So enjoy your weekend!

Smack Dab in the Middle of the Week!!

2010-11-03T07:31:00.001-04:00

Good Wednesday Morning All. Just so happy the elections are over and I hope everyone elected is for the best interest of this great nation of ours! Enough on that. Last evening I got home from work and my hubby, Bernie, had dinner on the table. I love it when he cooks, you just never know what you might be having, but let me tell you, it was very good. We had omelets, and they were delicious!! That gave me time to get sewing for a little while. I did manage to get two more tablerunners for Christmas quilted and they are ready with the other 6 to just bind up the edges, I have one more pinned and ready to quilt tonight. It won't take but a few minutes to get that one done. So, I'm moving right along. I plan on binding up these 7 before I begin making some more. My hubby asked me who they are for, I said "I really don't know yet", one for sure is for my Secret Santa person and the rest, well, I guess they will be gifts. Well, I got to run and get to my day job! Wish I had a sewing machine there, but I think they would notice. :) Have a great day!!

I Love Tuesdays!!

2010-11-02T07:15:00.000-04:00

Yep, I do. I just figure Monday is over and Tuesday has got to be better than Monday ever was!!! I have rough Mondays, usually every week, but I get home early and I have time to sew! So last night I got to work on my Christmas tablerunners. One of these will be for my Secret Santa Swap person. Hmmmmmm! Which one will it be? I still have three more to quilt though and one is a little different in the fabric I chose. I still have more Christmas fabric to cut more out, but I wanted to wait until I got a few completed projects. I have four done except to finish the edges as you can see in these pictures. I still have three more to quilt. I love making these, they look pretty and they are easy as long as you cut things out right :) Well, off to my day job, at least there is no full moon to ruin my Tuesday. Do you like Tuesdays, if you do, let me know why!!! Have a wonderful day!

Happy Friday!!

2010-10-29T07:27:00.000-04:00

I'm so happy it's Friday and the Halloween weekend is here. I hope to continue working on my table runners this weekend or at least one day of the weekend. I have 7 cut out and ready to quilt. I think I'll hold off and bind them all when I've finished with everything else. I bought one of those Simplicity Binding machines and it is wonderful. You just feed your strips of binding fabric through the machine and it creases it perfectly. Just put it on the sides of your project and stitch it up. Fast and it looks beautiful, no more fighting with the material to get a nice straight binding. I told you all that I was eBaying some things that were just sitting around in the basement collecting dust. We'll I ended up with making over $140!! I'm so excited, now I can purchase more fabric for my stash, some thread, etc. I've got to eBay some more!! Well, it's off to work time, so have a good day today and I'll try to post again on Sunday!!

My Grandkittys

2010-10-26T06:29:00.001-04:00

Good Morning everyone, hope you are ready to begin a wonderful Tuesday! For today's post let me tell you that I've been very busy sewing! I'm working on my Secret Santa gift and I'm making a table runner for Christmas. Actually, I have seven of them in the works, I love making them. I haven't taken a picture of them yet, I want to get them quilted first and then I'll show you what I've been up to. For today though, I have a very special picture or two to share with you. This is the "Kitty Kuilt" that I gave to my daughter-in-law, Jess, last weekend. Seems my two "Grandkittys" like it too! My son, Bryan, sent me these two pictures of Peppsi and Mocha enjoying the new quilt. Seems animals always think that my quilts are for them. Hmmmmmmmmmmm!! Thanks Bryan for the pics. BTW, Peppsi and Mocha are black cats and they were from the local shelter. They are very pretty cats and fun to watch if only I could get Mocha to quit jumping on my shoulders when I visit. He scares the living daylights out of me!! That's it for today. Enjoy!

Busy Two Days!!

2010-10-22T12:15:00.000-04:00

I've been off work the past two days, and I have kept myself quite busy thus far. Yesterday I went to JoAnn Fabrics, Pat Catan's, which is a huge craft store, and Kraynaks Christmas store in Hermitage PA. I got more fabric from JoAnns to work on some more Christmas table runners that I'll use as gifts. I'm posting some pictures of the fabric. Inside the JoAnn bag is a Christmas present for someone who shall remain nameless, and let's just say it's another project for me the multi-tasker!! Today, I've been busy, got a roast with vegetables in the crock-pot cooking had that on by 7 AM, had a cake baked by 8 AM and spent the morning eBaying some things that I need to get rid of in order to buy more quilting supplies!!!! This afternoon, I'm taking the fabric in the pics and begin cutting for the runners, so I have a busy afternoon planned. What are you doing today? What plans do you have for the weekend?

AccuQuilt Go! Giveaway

2010-10-19T18:55:00.000-04:00

Alderwood Quilts October Giveaway
Alderwood Quilts October Giveaway
AccuQuit GO! Fabric Cutting System with your choice of 3 die. Ends November 1st

http://alderwoodquilts.blogspot.com/2010/10/alderwood-quilts-october-giveaway.html

Rainy Days and Mondays.......

2010-10-18T18:55:00.000-04:00

Seems that I used that title before, I did, it is always raining on Mondays here it seems. Was a busy weekend again for me. Visited my son and daughter-in-law, had a delicious meal at Eat n Park, and got back home safely. Didn't have any time to sew at all this weekend, had every intention of doing so tonight, but sat down and never got to the machine. Well, tomorrow is always another day. Hope you are all having time to sew. After blog hopping all of two evenings, I didn't manage to win not one prize. Oh well, guess it wasn't meant to be. I'm happy for all of those that did manage to win!! I think I'll go to my machine, I might get a half-hour in on those Christmas runners I'm making. Til next time.......

TGI FRIDAY!! Finally!!

2010-10-15T07:12:00.000-04:00

Good Friday Morning!! I'm so happy that the weekend is hear. I just have to get through today at work and some days that is challenging. We will be taking a "Autumn Leaf Ride." I love doing that!! I did quite a bit of blog hopping last evening, signing up for some quilting and non-quilting giveaways. Today is the day they pick the winners, I probably won't win, but it was fun and thanks to the gals for giving me an opportunity to win. I'm leaving you today with a picture of a gift from a friend. Thank you, Ann. She gave me this awesome Halloween decoration that she made using her new Cricut Machine. She is a very talented woman. She and I attended Shakerwoods last weekend together. So enjoy your day, and I'll be back here hopefully over the weekend. Have a great FRIDAY!

I'm Blog Hopping

2010-10-14T19:34:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I can't write my blog tonight, it's the last night to enter the 100+ giveaways for Fall. I've been blog hopping for a while now entering as many as I can. It would have helped if I'd had known this started on Oct 1 and ended tomorrow the 15th, but since I just found out last night, I'm in a rush. I'll let you know if I win anything tomorrow. Have a good night!

Monday, Monday!!!!

2010-10-12T20:01:00.000-04:00

Good evening everyone!! Today was an overall busy day for me at work and at home. It was my early day to work and the mail we had to sort was unbelievable. You see, we were off for Columbus Day, some times it just doesn't pay to have a holiday! Anyway, I did have my 8 hours in earlier today so I got home and was able to do some sewing. I made a second Christmas runner, all sewn together backing on and I'm ready to quilt it as soon as I have some time again. I plan on making quite a few of these for gifts. I haven't taken any pictures of it yet though, perhaps tomorrow. I'm trying my luck at eBaying a few items, plan on using the cash to make more fabric stash!!! I love fabric and seeing what I can make with it. So, I'll leave you tonight with another picture of Dixie, this time she just woke up and wants a belly rub!! She's just so darn cute!! I don't know how I took the pic and caught her with her tongue out. That won't ever happen again. Til Next Time.......

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue........

2010-10-11T14:55:00.000-04:00

In 14 hundred and 92 (1492)!! Happy Columbus Day to everyone. Well, it has been a wonderful day off work thus far. I managed to get my daughter-in-law, Jess, her "Kitty Kuilt" completed this afternoon. I'm working on cutting some fabric for some table runners. It is a beautiful Fall day here in NW Pennsylvania. The colors are vibrant and the sun is beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better day off. I just went onto eBay and purchased some quilt labels, I have never labeled anything I've made and I've been told I need to do this. I have just taken some pictures of the Kitty Kuilt, so I'll be adding them to my project book, which I was also told I should be keeping. Just wonder, how many of you quilting gals do these things, I'd be interested in knowing. So what else did I do on my day off, well......I made an apple crisp for dessert this evening and I'm trying a new recipe in my beanpot. I hope this turns out, I'll have to let you know in another post. The recipe is to preheat your oven at 250 degrees, add 2-3 boneless chicken breasts to your beanpot with a can of cream of chicken soup, one can of water, and one can of chicken broth, Put the lid on and cook it 2-3 hours, I did 3 hours. Then, put in one package of egg noodles dry and put it back into the oven for another hour. When it comes out, cut up the chicken breast and serve. So far it looks and smells delicious! Well, that's it for this post. The first picture is the quilt outside on the beautiful purple cornflower bush near our walkway and the second is the quilt indoors by our fireplace and of course, Dixie had to stand on it, she thought she was getting another quilt to add to her collection. Happy Fall!!!

Happy Sunday Evening!

2010-10-10T19:48:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone! Sorry, I've been slacking on my blog posting. I had a busy weekend thus far. Got my flu shot on Friday, didn't feel like doing much at all for two days after that, but today was another story. A friend of mine and I went to Columbiana OH today to "Christmas in the Woods" at Shakerwoods. There were 200 crafters there, and it was a fabulous day in the 70's, and this fair is nestled under the trees. We had a very nice time. All that I bought this year were candles, primitives mostly, I just love those and a few tart melts in Eucalyptus for sinus suffers, like me, and some Christmas Spruce. We stopped and got some fabric so I can begin my project for my Secret Santa Swap over at Joan's Blog. Since I'm a government employee, Postmaster, I have tomorrow off for Columbus Day so I'm spending the day doing some sewing. I can't wait!! Hope you have a wonderful Columbus Day too!!

Water Logged

2010-10-06T07:26:00.001-04:00

It's been raining here in NW PA, the yard is like a pool, you sink in when you walk on it, and it just won't stop raining. This is day three of the monsoon!!! We are supposed to come out of the gray gloomy days tomorrow when we actually get out of the 40 degrees and get into the 60's. Friday is supposed to be much better and the weekend too. I guess I can get through one more day of this. Have a good over-the-hump day!! I'll leave you with a pic of Dixie that won her the title "Favorite Pet of the Year in Crawford County, PA" a couple years ago. Til next time!!

Tuesday Morning - Bright and Early

2010-10-04T20:05:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone, it's Tuesday. I posted a new pic of Dixie taken yesterday, she just can't get moving on Monday mornings. I woke her up, got her leash on her to take her for a walk before I leave for work and she just wasn't going to move. I made a little progress last evening on the "Kitty Kuilt" for Jess. I have all the blocks stitched now and just want to quilt the large center cat block. Then, it's bind it up and be done. I tried using several different designs of stitches on this one. I got this sewing machine that has several stitches so of course I wanted to try them out. Since Bryan and Jess got me the sewing machine for Christmas, I figured Jess wouldn't mind my trying out the stitches on her quilt. Thanks, Jess. Here is a picture of my finished acorn cone tree, I added some green pine sprigs to it, it turned out OK. Another weekend project was to make this fall arrangement for beside our fireplace. So, I did get my decorating done too! Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

Good Monday Morning!!!

2010-10-04T05:40:00.000-04:00

Good Morning Everyone! This was an extremely busy weekend for me. Got some cleaning done, ran around both days grocery shopping, (have to drive 18 miles each way to get to a Giant Eagle), but completed that in record time. Didn't get any sewing done although I had planned to, but I did get a crafting project off the ground. Here are a couple pictures. I wanted to make two of these, a smaller one also, but ran out of acorns and hemlock pinecones. So, I'll have to go for a walk later and see what I can find. The pictures don't do it justice at all, it actually came out pretty nice. Well I'm off to work, perhaps I'll get some sewing done after work. It's my early day so I get home earlier. Have a wonderful day!!

Happy October!!

2010-10-01T07:23:00.000-04:00

First of all let me welcome my 9th follower, thank you. I'm going to try to do better at this, had a few setbacks this week, my little Dixie was under the weather a couple days, how I hate to see her not feeling well, but she's back and feeling much better now. Also, I've been feeling not very well, sinus issues I presume, every year at this time I get hit with issues. So enough with that, it's the weekend. I did sign up for the Secret Santa Christmas Swap at Joan's Blog so I'll be working on my third project this month. I'm also going to work on a craft project this weekend in between my sewing, I'm going to take two styrofoam cones, the white ones, and hot glue small hemlock pinecones and small acorns on them. I love pinecones, I have pinecones throughout my home. I'm really into the rustic decor. Thanks to my daughter-in-law, Jess, for giving me the bag of acorns and pinecones. Jess is a jewelry maker, she specializes in unique charm necklaces and earrings. You can check out her store on Etsy.com it's called Treasuredcharms.(One Word. She probably has something you like or something someone on your gift list would like. Check it out! Well, off to work, can't wait to get back home and decorate for fall, work on the cones, sew, sew, sew!!!Have a wonderful FRIDAY!!!

The Christmas Table Runner

2010-09-28T07:29:00.000-04:00

Since I don't have an actual pattern for the Christmas Table Runner below, I will try to supply you with directions as I progress here. I will tell you in a future post what sizes, quantities, and cutting instructions for the pieces. There are only 3 different sizes to make this. Then as I sew the pieces together, I will take pictures. I can't guarantee that I will be correct in how I do it since I'm a fairly new quilter, but perhaps once you see that you can develop your own way of sewing it. I am currently working on the "Kitty Kuilt". I had hoped to get it done over the weekend, but we made an impromptu trip to our old hometown, Pittsburgh, to visit family, so I've gotten behind. I have begun sewing some fancy stitches on it making an "X" on the green plaid pieces, I'm going to try to get decorative on this one just to see if I can do it. Any suggestions on how to do the center section would be most appreciated. Happy Tuesday!!!

Oops - Here are the other pics.

2010-09-26T19:53:00.000-04:00

My weekend endeavors.....

2010-09-26T19:44:00.000-04:00

Well, I got some things done this weekend besides cleaning the house. I got some of my fall decoration out and I decorated a bit. I worked on the "Kitty Kuilt", I have the warm and natural between the front and back and pinned, so tomorrow might be a sew day. I also had borrowed a pattern from a friend, and I needed to may a pattern so I could sew up a few of these for the holidays. I love this table runner pattern so much I may just have to make a few for fall too! Let me know what you think of this pattern. That's about it for now, have a wonderful evening. Till next time......

It's Friday.......Need I say more!!!

2010-09-24T19:14:00.000-04:00

I'm just so happy that today is Friday, well it is already evening, and I'm just happy to be home finally after a long, very long, day at work. I stopped by the library the other day and asked for some civil war quilt pattern type books. Well, today I got the two that they ordered for me. Both are by Barbara Brackman, one is "Quilts from the Civil War", and it has 9 projects in it, and the second book is "Facts & Fabrication Unraveling the History of Quilts & Slavery." I just quickly flipped through the pages and I think I should be able to find a design just perfect for my son, Bryan's, quilt that I plan on working on next. So this weekend, I'll spend some time picking out just the right pattern to make. It has to be something with meaning, and something that he will cherish forever!! I have all my fabric, 2 Civil War Jelly Rolls, and 2 Civil War Charm Packs. I can't wait to get started on these. So off I go, to a wonderful weekend ahead. You all have a wonderful weekend too!!

Rainy Days and Mondays.........

2010-09-23T07:28:00.000-04:00

Well it's not Monday, but it is raining like cats and dogs out there right now. It's almost time to head off to work for this day, but I wanted to just say that I have 5 followers now. Thank you so much!! I promise to get better with writing to my blog each day. Now for what I've been doing. I have the "Kitty Kuilt" top all finished, all I have to do is put the back on and bind it. I hope to have it completely finished on the weekend. Pictures will follow then. I've been working on building the shelves for our computer room. They were from JCPenney and they weren't supposed to get here until Nov 4th, but what a surprise when I came home from work on Monday and there they were. I built one right away on Monday, and haven't had time to do the second one, but I came home last night and my wonderful husband had built the second one for me. Tonight I'll get them in place and put all my trinkets on them. I'm a collector of Yorkshire Terrier figurines,etc. I'll post some pictures when they are done. So you see, I haven't been slacking, just so darn busy. What have you been up to? Any quilting? Decorating? A rainy day is a good day to get things done inside. Have a wonderful Thursday!!

Civil War Quilt Pattern Needed

2010-09-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

Does anyone have a relatively easy Civil War Quilt Pattern they'd like to share? I have purchased the Moda Civil War Homefront Jelly Roll as well as Charm Pack, and another Moda Civil War Charm Pack and Jelly Roll. So I have a total of 2 Jelly Rolls and 2 Charm Packs all Civil War. I'd like to use some of this stash to make my son a quilt. If you know where I could look for a pattern, please let me know. Thank you for your help!!

A Stormy Evening

2010-09-16T19:53:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone,

It's a stormy night here in Northwest PA. We've been having thunderstorms with lightning off and all all evening long. There is a little break in the action, so I thought I'd blog a bit.

I've been working on the "Kitty Kuilt". I hope to have most of it done tomorrow and then be ready to bind it over the weekend. Dixie helped me again down in the sewing area. She tends to just sit there and watch me while I sew and piece things together. I like having her company though.

I wanted to put a picture of me on my blog site, but I have to figure out how to do it. I also wanted to put another picture of Dixie up for all of you to see. I think I might try to do that one first.

I now have 4 followers, thank you, thank you. I'm trying to add more blog sites for myself to look at as well. I enjoy seeing what quilting is going on at your place, or what crafty items you might be doing too.

Well, that's it for tonight, the storms are brewing again. Until next time, have a wonderful evening!!

I've finally finished it!!!

2010-09-12T17:15:00.000-04:00

Yep, I've finally done it!! Completed my king-size quilt, "Nestled Beneath the Pines." I'm so excited that it's finally finished. My hubby, Bernie, and I put it on the bed just to see how it would look, and he and I both thought it looked wonderful. The weather is still relatively warm here, so it won't have it's permanent placement there until the cold weather arrives.

I had a much needed vacation last week and actually got several things completed, one of them being the quilt. Now I will have to get busy on my other quilting projects, Jess' "Kitty Kuilt", and then another medium size quilt for my son, Bryan.

I still have a cross-stitch that I've been working on for years, yes, that was for Bryan too! He loves the Civil War, having gone to Gettysburg College and graduated in 2001, so I began a Civil War Union and Confederate Soldiers and their flags cross-stitch for him several years ago. So I guess, with the quilting and cross-stitch, I have my winter projects goals.

I did some other things on my vacation that I will share with you on my next blog. I see I have 3 followers now!! Wow, I'm on a roll. I'm going to try to get better with this blogging and try to add some other things that might be of interest to some of you. Stop by often!! Have a wonderful Sunday!!

OMG - I haven't written in how long??????

2010-09-03T21:18:00.000-04:00

I know I only have two followers and now I probably don't have any since I haven't blogged since August 10th and here it is Sept 3. Well, I've been busy, no not quilting as I should be, but I've been on vacation, and yes, I have been working just not on the quilt, I've been working on the house. I did some major cleaning this past week, rooms from top to bottom and I mean inside out, top to bottom. Closets cleaned out, woodwork cleaned, you name it, I did it. I thought that in one week I would get the entire house done, I was wrong. I did manage to get 5 rooms done, so that wasn't so bad. My computer room got the best going over, I finally painted a room. When the house was built, they used all one color throughout the house. I'm tired of looking at eggshell or bone, or whatever they call off-white today. So, I decided to paint Home Depot Harvest Tan on the walls, left the ceiling the bone color that it was. I then bought this new crown moulding from Texas made out of styrofoam, you honestly can't tell that it isn't wood and it was much easier to install. I made new fish swag curtains and hung up a new sign, changed the room furniture around, ordered from JCPenney two of the ladder shelves that were on closeout sale. Yippee!!! Of course, they won't be here until November. Hubby even likes the transformation in this room. When it is completely finished, I will have pictures to post. I don't want to do it until it is completely finished and since I'm waiting on the shelving units, it will be a while. SO you see, I wasn't slacking off, just on the quilting, I hope to get some done before the holiday weekend is over. I must say, I watch way too much HGTV!! I love decorating!!! Till next time!! Enjoy the rest of the warm weather wherever you are!!

It's been a while. . . .

2010-08-10T07:01:00.000-04:00

Since my last post, I managed to finally cut off all the excess batting and back fabric from my "Nestled Beneath the Pines" king-size quilt. All that is left, is to bind it. I'm not sure what I am going to bind it with, I'm leaning toward the deep red leaf print fabric I used for the center blocks. I think it would accent it nicely. So of course, I don't have enough of it left to do 480" of binding, soooooooo, I am purchasing more to finish. I just might get this done before the cool weather sets in. So now I wait, to get the fabric via the US Postal Service!! I have all the faith in the world that the USPS will get my fabric here safe and sound and quickly. Well off to work I go! Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping in.

It's almost completed. Yes!!!

2010-07-29T20:17:00.000-04:00

I worked last evening for an hour on the "king" quilt. I have finally finished all the stitches in the ditches. Ha Ha!! Anyway, I spent tonight cutting off the thread pieces on both the front and the back, I bet I missed a few of those transparent threads on the front, but I'm sure I'll continue to find them long after it's on the bed. Anyway, next is to cut off the extra warm n natural batting along the edges and then get it bound. So, I feel that I'm finally making some headway. The quilt is far from perfect, but hey, it's my first big project, it's for ourselves, so be it. To me it looks pretty already. Can't wait to work on the binding. As of tonight, I have 50 hours into this quilt. Have a wonderful evening. Common on, I know some more of you have taken a look at this blog, become a follower, it's easy. Besides when I get enough followers, I might just do something special, you never know.

Mid-Week - Wednesday - Over the Hump Day!!

2010-07-28T19:12:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted for a few days, still finishing up the stitch in the ditch on my quilt, I'm going down to my sewing room right now! There is a storm brewing again tonight, and the lights keep flicking on and off, but I'm gonna try my best to at least get a 1/2 hour in of sewing. I hope to be ready to bind it up by the weekend, but who knows how long that will take for me to figure out. I'm going to use Kelly's email from Charming Girls to bind my quilt. Wish me luck. I didn't show you my sewing area. It's not all the way organized yet, but I'll post a few pics, maybe someone can comment on how to make it better. Have a wonderful evening!

FInally Friday

2010-07-23T21:28:00.000-04:00

I actually had some time to quilt tonight being that it is Friday! I spent 1-1/2 hours at the machine although not all the time was spent sewing. I keep having problems with the walking foot. It would get stuck up and slam down and then work a few stitches and get stuck, slam, stuck, etc. and it was driving me insane!! So I got out my trusty screwdriver and took the walking foot off. Hmmmmmmm!! I decided to put on a regular foot to see if it made a difference, and lo and behold, the machine is working wonderfully now. I don't have that much quilting to go on the king-size quilt I'm working on, so I'm just going to leave the regular foot on. I'm using Warm n Natural batting so it's not all that thick. Sew, I mean, so, I finished up another row or two and called it quits for the evening. There is a storm coming and it's lightning and thundering, and I just now hear the rain coming.

Dixie is panting heavily and pacing the floor, storms she can do without. So I'll close my blog for tonight and I'm so happy that I got something done on my quilt tonight. Tomorrow is another day, I wonder what it will bring. Good Night All!!

A Welcome Surprise

2010-07-20T18:55:00.000-04:00

As I've mentioned before, I'm a Postmaster and when I moved here for my work, I didn't know a soul. I asked the people at work if there was a quilting club in the town where I worked or nearby where I could learn to quilt. Lo and behold, one of my rural carriers told me that his wife, Sue, belonged to a quilting group. Anyway, Sue, took me under her wing and began to teach me how to quilt. She first had me make just a small hot pad using the log cabin design. It turned out quite well if I do have to say so myself. So my next project was two small pillows also using the log cabin. After that, I skipped the log cabin and did my own thing, it was Dixie's quilt "Dixies by the Dozen" and now my largest project on record the King-Size Quilt "Nestled Beneath the Pines." I want to personally thank Sue for all her help and guidance as I begin this wonderful adventure. I truly love quilting and it's because I have the best teacher. Thank you so much, Sue.

My first follower

2010-07-19T17:49:00.001-04:00

Thank you for being my very first follower, Cheryl, on my blog. Do you have a blog? Being a newbie quilter, I would like to join some blogs of new quilters too.

I will be trying to blog daily as long as I have something to share. I'm headed to my machine right now to quilt a little tonight on my king-size project. Have a wonderful evening.

Pictures - Finally

2010-07-18T12:37:00.000-04:00

I've finally figured out how to add pictures to this blog. So here are some of my current July-Aug quilting projects. Also, why I named my blog what I did. Now all I need is some followers to my blog, anyone out there that can help me please????????

July - August Goals

2010-07-14T19:30:00.001-04:00

I'm new with this blogging thing, so I'll take suggestions on what to do to improve my blog page.

Here are my goals for the Charming Girls Quilt Club:

1. I've been working on a 120" x 120" King-Size quilt for a few months now. I have just over 47 hours in it. This is my first major project having only done two pillows, a doggie quilt for Dixie, and a hot mat. So yes, I am green when it comes to quilting. I hope to have this completely finished by the end of this month.

2. I've begun piecing together a small little quilt which has a cat theme, this will be a gift for someone. Hope to have this done by end of July also.

3. I'll also be beginning a civil war quilt, using a Moda jelly roll. This will be a gift for my son, Bryan.

Well, these are my goals, and I only hope I can find time to get them all done. I plan on posting pictures on all of these on my blog soon.

From beautiful NW Pennsylvania
Debbie