Quilts and Things

I have no real reason for including this picture of water in a cabbage leaf except that I like the way it looks.

This, on the other hand, is a pretty good picture of me sometimes. I often feel like the little donkey with a cart full of jobs to do!

I finished the little quilt with the Miss Jump's Scrapbag charm squares. I love the disappearing nine-patch pattern. It is so simple and yet looks so modern. My son is not the one who got it, but he liked it when he saw it Thanksgiving Day. He said it was a masculine looking quilt. Oh brother!

I backed it with a Laura Ashley drapery weight fabric. I really like it and I have more. :)

Mr. Sweetie Pie and I delivered it yesterday. One more item crossed off my list. And that's a good thing.

Hope your day is going well.

Hugs and kisses,

Thankful

Another Thanksgiving Day is almost over. I hope yours has been filled with good things, and that you've remembered to thank the One who made them possible!

We had a wonderful day with our family, minus our little (grown up) baby girl who lives far away. It's not the same without her, but it was still mighty good. It's always good to spend time with those we love.

And having plenty of pie sure doesn't hurt any either!

I am so thankful for all the blessings I enjoy each and every day. I'm thankful for this country we live in, which with all its problems is still the best in the world for me. I'm thankful for the best husband in the world, for our family, for our friends, for our church. I'm thankful for a Pastor who is not afraid to speak the truth in love. I'm thankful for this beautiful world our heavenly Father created for us. I'm thankful that He gives me strength and ability to live each day and to do so many things that just make me happy!

And if you're feeling a little like this guy who has overindulged in the Thanksgiving Day feast, don't beat yourself up - you'll feel better tomorrow!

My love to you all!

Hugs and kisses,

At Least He Was Outside

Looking outside my kitchen window this afternooon I caught a movement on the ground. When I looked a little closer I saw this little guy.

He IS cute - as long as he's out there and not in here!

It's been a cool, rainy day here today, perfect weather for staying inside and eating yummy delicious soup.

On the sewing front, I'm happy to report that I have taken the plunge and started free-motion quilting with my new sewing machine. It works like a dream. I had to drag myself away to get some sleep last night.

Today, it's working just as well. Can I just say, "I LOVE IT!!!". I am a happy camper.

I have some more done on this little project. These squares need pressing, and then I'll figure out how I want them to go in a quilt I'm making for our bedroom. I've been wanting a Christmas sort of quilt to brighten up the room. I love Christmas, don't you?

Chloe, on the other hand, prefers to be left alone. Sure she's in my chair and I'd like to sit down and get back to work, but that is beside the point. Just leave me alone, she says.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs and kisses,

Something Old, Something New

This sweet little scene belonged to my mother. She gave it to me recently and I have it where I can see it every day. I have no idea what locale it portrays, but I like it. It's small - 2 3/4 inch X 3 1/4 inch.

On the back it says, "Perfect Attendance 1936-1937, Grade V, Love from Elizabeth Lassiter". You can see that someone spilled some ink on it at some point.

Here's another oldie. Our pastor used to say often what's written on this little plaque, "Only one life, 'Twill soon be past, Only what's done For Christ will last." When I saw it in a shop one day, I snapped it right up. He's gone to heaven now, but this is a constant reminder of things he taught us.

So that's two old things and here are some freshy cut and sewn squares that are half-triangles. More on these later.

In some really sad news, I was sewing along happily last night when my sewing machine stopped. Just stopped, and though I worked and worked, I could not get it started again. I took it back to the shop this morning and learned that the motor was gone. They no longer make motors like that. The bracket that holds it to the machine is just distinctly different from that on motors available today. So. Bummer!

The lady at the sewing machine shop said that perhaps it was time to buy a new machine. Now I would not have considered doing that if I had an option, but I had no option at the moment, so I proceeded to look at new sewing machines. And...............

This is the little girl that came home with me. I've been playing with it most of the afternoon. I'm in learning mode. Lots more bells and whistles, and I have to say I like it! I'm working up my nerve to try the free motion quilting with it later. Fingers crossed!

Hope you've had a wonderful day (or for my friends on the other side of the world - that you're having a wonderful day)!

Hugs and kisses,

Look at This!

I am so excited! Today when we drove up - back at home from church, I looked at our little lemon tree and just could not contain myself any longer.

I've been impatiently watching our little crop of lemons ripen and today

I picked one!

Isn't it pretty! And Millie, you can see I'm taking your advice and starting a string quilt. I know you have probably forgotten that advice, it's been so long ago!

And can you see how very juicy it is? I immediately put on the kettle for a pot of tea. Dessert was a couple of oatmeal raisin cookies with a cup of hot tea with our very own lemon. Delicious!

I did finally finish the little baby quilt for my niece's baby. She's expecting a little boy after the first of the year.

I love the Beatrix Potter prints. Each of the little characters is so dear.

I backed it with some little lambs with numbers, though you could certainly never tell that from this picture.

The yellow angel's trumpets are still glorious at the back door.

And the pink ones are framing the sewing room window. You can see how big they've grown from the picture of the back of the baby quilt.

It seems that everything that blooms is trying to outdo itself before cold weather sends its pretty blooms away.

Hope you're having a wonderful day!

Hugs and kisses,

More Birdies

Warning: The birdies are addictive. I have made a couple more.

I had to put everything away or I'd probably still be making them. I have quilts I HAVE to get done!

I tried this candy bar Margaret sent me from Australia, and I have to say I LIKE it. There's a crispy green mint candy inside the chocolate. I've never seen anything quite like it. Probably a good thing we don't have them here. And underneath the candy is the little baby quilt I've neglected for so long. I finished quilting it last night and hopefully I'll get the binding on it tonight.

I've found that I can cut a branch of the angel's trumpets and put it in water and it will last for about a week indoors. They are so pretty and the fragrance in the evening is just indescribable. Oddly enough, there is no fragrance at all during the day.

I just love having flowers to enjoy. Even working in the kitchen is improved by a view of something blooming, don't you think? And Bruno has informed me that he's had enough of all this attention to Chloe that's been going on here on the blog. After all, I AM Bruno's Mom!

We have a beautiful day here. Hope yours is just the same!

Hugs and kisses,

Birdies and Gifties

I saw the sweetest little crocheted birdies over at Attic24. You should hop over and take a look at them. Lucy does the most amazing, colorful crochet and takes wonderful pictures. It's a lovely place to visit.

Anyway, I liked her little birdies a lot, but I started thinking that they might also look pretty good out of fabric. So I used a cd as a pattern and cut around that for the fabric circles.

Then I went to my supply cabinet to see what I could find to accessorize. (Yes, that is Mr. Homer Pigeon. He's been hiding behind the glass since Chloe moved in, and I don't blame him a bit.)

I had a lot of fun playing, I mean sorting through my buttons to see what I could use. My mother used to allow us children to play with her button box once in a while. It was a treat! Just letting buttons fall through your fingers onto the table felt as good to us as Scrooge's coins did to him.

I made this little girl first. She's modeling on the sewing room wall right now since it's night (or I should say early morning) time now. I think I will hang them in the window tomorrow so I can have something else to see.

And here is her sister. Mine aren't nearly as cute as Lucy's, but I still like them.

This package arrived for me this afternoon. Notice that it came to Texas all the way from Australia!

Look, there's even a boomerang sticker on the back!


And inside, all kinds of goodies. I have been really privileged to meet Margaret here in blogland. Don't you just love how you can get to know a little bit about people all over the world from right in your own place! Margaret and I have been commenting and emailing back and forth for a while. She is very involved there in Geelong with the Leukaemia Foundation.

See the little Aussie Bear pins? They are part of a series of badges to raise money for Leukaemia Foundation work. I liked that Margaret wrote a little note on the back. The one on the top right is the Aussie Bush bear. She says he has corks on his hat to keep the flies away. There's a really pretty piece of glittery fabric that might just turn into a scarf of some sort. :)

And three keychains shaped like Australia. I've already snagged the one with kangaroos and put my keys on it, and our pretty daughter claimed the blue one which has koalas. There was also a pretty piece of needlework for me to do, but you can only see the very corner of it. But my favorite thing is that Margaret sent me a cd with her memoirs on it. I do so love to read people's memories of bygone days and hers are fascinating! I've only read the first fifteen pages, and I want to read more.

Thank you again and again, Margaret, for your generosity, but most of all for trusting me with your memories.

By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARGARET!!!

To the rest of you, thank you for being my friends as well. You are precious to me!

Hugs and kisses,