A quick and easy wonderful homemade gift!

This gift is for my friend Kathy. She has a deer/outdoor/woodsy theme going on in her bathroom. So do I for that matter but erase deer and insert moose. The fabric has an outdoor theme if you can't see it well.

Anyhow, this gift was so easy it's almost a sin. I cut the strip of fabric the width of the towel, ironed on with fuseable, sewed lace on the bottom, and did a machine embroidery stitch across the top and on the bottom above the lace. I added a bar of English Rose soap from http://www.rusticcottagecreations.com/ and voila' a beautiful from the heart homemade gift!

You know what's coming,

don't you? We'll have another near record high in the 60's today and early tomorrow, then WHAM this pretty little picture will be snowy and white!

HOME

I got to thinking about the word "home" the other night. We were traveling to my daughter's basketball game out of town and I just started to notice "houses". Some were so lit up and happy looking, some with Christmas lights up already others lit by lamp lite or TV's. Other houses looked dark and cold. I imagined their owners stuck in traffic, or picking up children from daycare just aching to be home.
You can't judge a building by the outside though. Some of the "homey"est looking houses may be filled with angst or sadness inside; while the dark unlit abodes may be the warmest most caring places once everyone safely arrives.
I am blessed to have a home filled with love. The love of God, the love of family and friends. I appreciate everyday here. When I look into my yard and see wildlife, flowers and trees and just think, "I can't believe this is ours!" It's not huge, but it is truely HOME.
I pray that you all have a place called home, and that it is filled to the brim with love. And remember; it is never to late to change.

...And HERE WE GOOOOOO!

Its time to Christmas!!!! Are you in the Spirit? Or are you sick of the commercials already? I have to admit, jolly spirit of the season is creeping up on me...I ignore the sales pitches and tune into the lovely songs. I get out my crazy reindeer socks, I've strung up the lights...it's time!!!!
When my husband drug out he boxes Friday morning (I do NOT shop on Black Friday), I wasn't thrilled. "Didn't we just put this stuff away?!" But one by one each ornament and knick knack turned into a memory and the joy of the season took over. Yes, this is a celebration of my Savior's birth and there is no hustle or bustle that can steal that joy away from me.
So get ready, get set, let go of the things that ruin your fun, and ENJOY the season.

Wishes for a Blessed Thanksgiving

It is the day before Thanksgiving and I am off of work; it feels like forever since I have had the opportunity to just sit and reflect. I've been sort of grumpy this week and I think it is because time just feels like it is flying and I am fighting it. That is senseless, I know. But didn't we just do this? Celebrate Thanksgiving, dive into the holidays, put the tree up, take the tree down... I just want to be able to savor moments again. I am not a high-energy, go, go , go person. When I am at work, I work hard and do what I need to do quickly; and I am pretty much always on time. But what I mean is I am never one that can have 5 different things going 5 nights of the week. I am not a commity person (see, I can't even spell it!) I take on one thing at a time and I am not afraid to say no. So how do I get so burnt out? Maybe just because I am constantly fighting the passage of time and the business of the world. The best thing I know to do is to treat this season as it was meant and to start by thanking God for all the blessings in my life. I thank Him for my health and the health of my family; my parents who have ALWAYS been there for me, my husband and children who love me as I am. I thank God for my friends and neighbors; my home, our jobs and the abilities He has given us. I thank Him especially for rescuing me by His Son, Jesus; and for His wonderful plans for my life (Jer. 29:11)
I pray that everyone that reads this has a blessed Thanksgiving. That you are able to enjoy the moment without constantly jumping ahead of yourself to what "needs" to be done in the upcoming weeks; and that you are able to spend your time with the people you love most. And for those of you with loved ones far from home in the Armed Services, THANK YOU.
Happy Thanksgiving!

I bought this wonderful soap from my wonderful farmgirl friend Kay at http://www.rusticcottagecreations.com/ It is a beautiful website, with lots of homemade goodies. I will definately be shopping there again.
The darker soap is autumn spice, and the lighter is English Rose. They both smell divine. I have never bought homemade soap before...it will take a little will-power to use the beauties. I don't know why but I always like to "save" stuff like that. I will use it though. 1)Because I have heard so many testimonials about how nice it makes your skin feel, and 2) so I can buy more and give Kay the business! Oh yeah, and 3) I think I definately need to go buy a cute soap dish!
Blessings!

More Totebags

These are a couple of the totebags I have made for MaryJane Farmgirl friends. I have more to make!! They are nothing fancy, and I would like to learn something that incorporates quilting. But I can make these in a day and inexpensively. I really need to stop playing around with these and concentrate on what I need done for Christmas! I just can't get over how fast it is all coming! I officially sound like my mother now!!!

Basketball

This was bright and early Saturday morning! DD loves all sports...she keeps us busy! She is the maroon uniform #11.

Grandma's Goodie Box Part II

My mom went to take my Grandmother to visit my Great Aunt who is recooperating from a heart attack last week. (doing quite well) Grandma sent me a goodie box. As you can see, I come by my magazine fetish quite honestly!! There really were quite a few great crafts magazines that I can use, either for my own projects or 4H. She had also sent a wool dress coat. When I tried it on I realized each pocket had a (clean!) hankie in it! Can you believe it!! My mom thought I was a little silly to be so excited, but hey! Can't wait to head over the river and through the woods Thursday to give Grandma a big (((hug))) and thank you in person!

Grandma's Goodie Box

New(old) Apron

I bought the green apron off of Ebay! I love the butterflies on the pockets. Can't you just picture mama floating around the kitchen with her butterflies flapping along with her? I see on the pictures dark spots on the pockets. I starched the butterflies this morning, I hope I didn't stain them! I have plenty of room to hang more, so I think I'll start looking for some patterns.
Have a great weekend! I am off to see a production of Miracle on 34th Street with my friend Michelle and her mom.

The Top of the Dresser!!

This old dresser is just a roadside pickup, filling space until I find a china cabinet. This in in the dining area of my kitchen. Have I ever shared my moose problem? It's almost right up there with the fabric addiction I shared!

The dish, that you can't see very well, is carnival glass that my mother gave me at our housewarming!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Mama and Papa Find a New Home

These are my sweet tea towels from Ebay. I just love them. The work and detail are incredible...I love thinking of a wonderful farmwife putting her time into these. I am glad they found their new home!

Mom and Son time

Saturday, DS and I did some sewing. He doesn't do to much sewing with me, but he has some interest. He is in home ec right now and ordered two projects; one for school and one for home. His dream is to go to the Culinary Institute of America, so he too, loves aprons. His taste is a bit more industrial than mine though! So he is working on an apron with a Michigan State U patch on it. He loves that school for some reason, too. He worked on it for quite a while. The fabric was already cut, he just needed to fold and sew to make the bottom pocket and sew the top pocket on. All he has left to do is sew the side seams and add the neck strap.

Holiday themes

This piece is probably the only one I don't know what I will do with. I am sort of an American history buff and I read Gone with the Wind this summer; so when I went to a show with my Aunt and saw this, I bought it!

Two pieces from Grandma

Somehow, this blue toille and these five hankies will become a runner or a wall hanging!

Confessions of a Fabric Junkie

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Well, I don't know that I want to recover! And maybe my problem isn't all THAT big of a deal. I mean, I don't buy fabric everytime I am in the store. Sometimes I just look at it, feel it, imagine what it's potential may be. My kids thought I was really out of my mind when I bid on fabric on Ebay; but I had too! A friend of mine was looking for special fabric for her granddaughter's quilt. And I am sure buying fabric on Ebay is no big deal. I've seen post's where women have described their stash as "more than what I could use in a lifetime". I'm not there yet, so maybe I'm ok!
Funny thing is, I have had a little fabric stash ever since I could remember; long before I actually sewed. I think it was seeds mom and grandma were planting hoping the desire to sew would grow. They were right. I tried making clothes when the kids were small. I even took a class. I tried making Marie overalls. I don't know if I had set my sights to high or if I just can't make clothes, but they were a disaster! I tucked my stash away for a few more years. I think it was slowly growing, though, waiting patiently for me to discover it's worth. The spring of 2005 was the first year in our new home. I was feeling quite domestic and joined the crafting book club. I bought a fat quarter quilt book. I had no idea what a fat quarter was, but somehow I owned a bundle! Armed with my book, my bundle and a little extra I started on a lap size quilt. I did this with a measuring tape and scissors; I didn't even know what a rotary cutter and mat were! As I cut and sewed and created something new and I had to admit, beautiful, I was falling in love. The seeds were taking root. I finished the project over the summer and it had actually turned out to be something I could show others.
I didn't dive right in to another project though, still quite unsure of myself. The winter of 05-06 prooved to be at times unbearable, but also proof that God never lets go. The first seemingly unremarkable event was that our school district started offering "community education classes". I received the flyer in the mail, saw that they offered a beginners quilting class, and briefly thought "oh wouldn't that be nice?", and set the flyer down. I have to say, that would have been the end of it, the excuses of " I don't have the time, money, ect, ect " were already killing the idea. My mother-in-law, Gladys, ressurected it. She called and said that she too, received the flyer(she only lives a block away) and had always wanted to try to quilt. She crochets constantly, and sews quite a bit, but had never learned to quilt. She knew I had made that one little quilt, so how about taking the class together. That motivated me, and my flyer was filled out and put back in the mail. The class would be a couple months away.
The second event was the death of my husband's nephew, Gladys's grandson, in early January. He was only 21. The only son of my husband's brother. It was one of those late night dreaded phone calls, "Eric was in an accident...get here fast". He was gone, and we were devistated. It was five long days between the accident and the funeral, but then when it was over our closeknit family was all in shock. But God had healing planned for Gladys, and me too.
Maybe a week, not more than two, that class we had signed up for months ago was coming up. We weren't really in the mood, but I told Gladys I would pick her up. When I arrived at her house, I was saddened to see how worn out she still looked. This had been so hard on her, losing her grandson, watching her son go through the unthinkable. This woman, who I love dearly, had been so full of life and laughter. She looked tired and worn down. She put on a good face and we headed to the Home Ec room in the school. Our teacher would be the quilt shop owner in the next town. She is one of the sweetest ladies you would want to meet. We had a nice sized class of 8, and she wanted to remember all of our names. When she got to my MIL she said, "Oh, I'm so sorry I can't remember..." My mother in law smiles and says "just remember Happy Bottom... (Gladys ...Glad as*) ", I felt like I was back in highschool trying not to laugh as our teacher tried to figure out her little joke. We all got it, eventually. It was silly, but Gladys was LAUGHING.
One night a week for the next four we looked forward to this class. Gladys baked cookies for the class, flew through the quilting and looked better each week. We finished the class with beautiful table runners and a love for quilting. It hasn't even been a year yet, and we have both made numerous projects, and taken a few more classes. The quilting has connected us on a beautiful level, given me an outlet for smothered creativity and given Gladys something new and exciting to look forward too. It is amazing to me how God timed that class perfectly.
So, I guess that is not where I planned to go with my fabric story, but it is the heart of my quilting story. I want to share a few of my favorite pieces of fabric with you. I love looking at peoples fabric as much as I do their projects. Enjoy!

Grandma

I really don't like this picture of myself, my face is too round and my hair to short for me! The picture is four years old, and the best one I had on the computer of my grandma. She is one of my biggest inspirations to sew and craft.
It's funny as I thought of this last night, but she has never really had the opportunity to sit down and teach me much. We live about 70 minutes away, so I never really "popped in" for sewing lessons. I used to stay there on school breaks when I was little, and I do have a set of pillowcases that she taught me to embroider. They are french knots and stem stitching; and I need to finish the second one! But once grandpa retired about 20 years ago, grandma's time seems to be consumed! And once I had children it was probably ridiculous to try to sit together and sew!
But even so, it is her that I think of as I sew and embroider. She has given me many of her embroider pieces, both finished and unfinished. She made beautiful clothes for me and my cousins when we were young, and she did the same for my daughter. We write each other constantly, and we talk of our projects. Lately, she talks of the projects she wishes she could do, but I know she still tries. We write at least a couple times a month, and each time I pull one of her letters out of the post I feel such a mix of emotions. Excitement of course to hear from Grandma, and a dread of the day the letters will stop. But I try to treasure them for what they are now, and accept what the future will bring. I have boxes of her letters, quite a few of her tablescarves, and most importantly, the legacy of creating, giving and loving that she has passed down to me.

Thoughts of a Good Day

Yesterday was a beautiful day!

We had off of school for Veteran's Day. Thank you to all who served or have family members who have/had served.

The weather was warm and sunny. My son went outside to rake leave to earn time on his Playstation. (yes, we own one of those!) Anyways, friends from the neighborhood showed up and he didn't come back in all day! Sometimes they all raked and sometimes it looked like a game of tackle; but it always looked fun! He needed a good day of fresh air and friends.

M spent some time down the street at her friends house and came home and played some with her brother and his friends. She always has her soccer ball in hand. Now that I think about neither one of them came in to complain about the other! It WAS a nice day!

DH had to work so I was just mom about the house. I did some laundry, but a roast in the crock pot and did some blogging in the morning. I went on www.maryjanesfarm.com and put some craft stuff up to barter, and made a deal with Tasha for some of it. That was so fun! I love that site...maybe too much...I have put up 200 posts in 2 weeks!!! Most of it is before 6:00 AM so I don't feel so bad.

After my computer fix, I did some sewing. I made another bag yesterday. After it gets to it's rightful owner I will post a picture. I am in the mood to make more, so I will have to buy more fusible today. There were good Jimmy Stewart movies on while I sewed...gotta love that. I love to sew to either a good old movie or a good book on tape.

I was not expecting mail yesterday, being a holiday, but DS brought it in and I had TWO packages! One was from a Farmgirl. She was awesome enough to send me 5 demo cd's of her son's Christian rock band. Great music! DD kept one, and is giving the rest to her friends.

My other package was a set of embroidered tea towels from ebay. I'll get pictures up of those. They are really neat and on heavy towels too. And something I had never seen before is that the maker used material in the decorating process. They are real cute.

DD went off to youth group with one of her girlfriends, so it was DH, DS and I for supper.

To top off a wonderful day...The Wizard of Oz was on last night. That is one movie I can't buy on dvd. I just love the excitement of finding out it's going to be on TV. Silly, huh!

Jasmine's Recovering

This is our baby Jasmine. She had ear surgery yesterday and is recovering nicely on HER couch in the family room.

Family/Sewing Room

This room was originally a 3-season room. We decided this year to put in the stove. This room is a little more rustic than the livingroom, but we love the view and I love having all my sewing where everyone hangs out.

Salt and Pepper Shakers

I didn't set out to collect salt and pepper shakers but they were just SOOOO cute! Will post more later. I am not a beer drinker but my MIL had to bring back this Moose Drool from Montana!