The Sewing Room....Before

This is just some of my fabric; there are shelves above and to the sides of the door entrance.




This is my desk for my laptop. Yeah, right.



My cutting area.




Have you seen the tv show "How to Look Good Naked"? I have never watched it but I think that taking pictures of my sewing room may come close to taking pictures of yourself naked. The room is pretty bad but I am thinking that if I show them I will work harder to get to the point to take the AFTER pictures. So this is the plan:

1. Sort, fold and organize fabric. I got myself some comic book boards to fold the fabric around. I got 200 of them for $17.oo. This is much cheaper than boards advertised for quilters. They are also acid free.

2. Go thru my books and magazines. I have some that I have forgotten about and some magazines I don't think I have read thoroughly.

3. Clean out some of the stuff that is really not sewing related. I just don't know where to put it...

4. Give a good dusting and vacuum, clean the windows and woodwork (before I put things away).

Today I will pick up my living room (hardly used) so I can work out there on the fabric. Since Adrienne is coming home I don't want a huge mess up there. I can bring out fabric as I work on it and once it is folded it will look a lot neater. (Ok this is internal thinking-did I really need to post it?)

If you have any good organizing tips, please send them along.

How does that sound? I will keep you posted.

Completed Quilts

As promised, here are some picture of quilts I have completed recently. This Dogwood Flower Quilt has been a work in progress for about 3 years. I hand appliqued the flowers and then the quilt sat for about a year. (I used to work on it while meeting monthly at the library with a group of stitchers.) This past July I attended Quilting By The Lake in Morrisville, NY. I took a 2 day workshop with Sue Nichols and got a good start on the quilting. I also learned a lot-Sue is a great teacher. Anyway it is now completed and hanging in my guestroom. Yes! I have a guest room! And it is clean and the bed is completely cleaned off!

Below is a closeup of the quilting:



This quilt is another quilt that to a long time to get to completion. The quilts are the easy part; it is the quilting that takes a while. This is a mini quilt that I completed for my quilt guild challenge. The theme was "Summer Memories". Some of the quilting I am really proud of; some shows that I am still a beginner. The quilt measures about 12"x 14" and was paper-pieced.
I had fun looking for the embellishments.



Here is a closeup. BTW, the flowers are paper cuts and the kitty is a button. This quilt is hanging in my hall. I like to look at it!



So I do finish things!

Momo Strikes Again!

Here are some more pictures of my beautiful grandsons:

I think Michael really likes Dylan!


Michael being Michael.


First day of Second Grade


17 weeks old-time flies by!


I am getting ready for a personal challenge. I am completely overrun with fabric, books, magazines and necessary paraphenalia in my sewing room. So I am planning a major overhaul of it all. It has gotten so (sew?) out of control that it is almost impossible to work in there so something has got to be done. I will be uploading some before pictures tomorrow and I will keep you updated on my progress.

I also have to hem some drapes for my brother, Dylan is being christened next Sunday and Adrienne and Joe are coming home next week. Busy, busy!

Food for Thought

I have never thought of myself as a good cook. My brothers will tell you that I still don't know how to make spaghetti and meatballs and my husband will say that there are some favorites his mom used to make that no one can duplicate. But I hope my family will tell you that there are a couple of meals that I have put out there that are not too bad.

The funny thing is, the recipes that enjoy are not necessarily those that I have perfected after many trials and errors. The best meals are those I put together out of desperation or just pulling ingredients out that should go well together. And then there are those that my daughters call "mom cleaned out the freezer". I thought I would share with you one of my latest freezer creations. Please feel free to ignore, change or enjoy.

Several months ago my youngest went to the grocery store for me. I mentioned that sirloin steaks were on sale and she should by some. Lauren mistakenly bought rump roast steaks.(Never complain if someone will shop for you.) I have always thought that rump roast was rather tough and why would they make these into steaks? This is totally confusing to me. Into the freezer they went.

Sunday I decided I needed to do something with them before they were totally freezer-burned and way too old to cook. So this is what I did:

1. Throw the steaks (semi-thawed-it was getting late) into the crockpot.
2. Mix leftover pizza sauce with a packet of beef stew flavoring I found in the back of the cupboard.
3. Add the half bag of stir fry peppers and onions from the freezer.
4. Start the crockpot on high for a couple hours, then on low until dinner time(approximately 7 hours total time).

I made this with oven roasted potatoes, sweet mashed potatoes (I made both because I did not have enough of either), mixed vegetables and applesauce.

My family actually enjoyed this meal. We probably should have had more veggies but that would have required going to the store. (I did have broccoli but my son-in-law does not like it).

So let's see if my kids read my blog. If they leave a comment about one of their freezer favorites, I will post the recipes.

My next post will get back to sewing AND will be within the next week. Pinky promise!

Remains of the Day

These are the last of the pictures we took this week:

Saturday Michael had his first baseball game. He got two hits and made an out.


I am sure that you remember buddy. I look at him now and I cannot believe that when we brought him home, he was only about as big as his head is now.









I really wanted to get a picture of my oldest, Adrienne, and her boyfriend posted but I did not get any that I liked. So Adrienne, if you are reading this, send me one of the pictures you took and I will upload it.

Dylan's red blood cell count went way down so he is headed back to the hospital tomorrow. He is going to have to have a blood transfusion. Michael went through the same thing and all is well now but it is still upsetting for everyone-especially Katie and Dave. They are both so tiredand are looking forward to just one normal day. Let's hope that one is coming along very soon.

Surprisingly I have actually gotten some sewing done. More on that later!

More Pictures-Again!

I still have trouble putting pictures and text the way I like. Anyway, here are some more pictures of Dylan with the family. The first picture is Katie (mom), Dylan and me. The next picture is Dylan with Great GREAT Aunt Betty, then Great Uncle Frank, Great Uncle Greg and then a picture of the quilt I made for Dylan. The squares are Michael Miller's Bunnies at Play. I will post better pictures of the quilt later.

More Pictures!

Welcome Baby Dylan!

Dylan John was born yesterday at 11:48 am. He weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20" long. Of course he is beautiful. Mom is tired but happy; Dad is ecstatic and big brother Michael is enjoying the attention of his aunt, Beauty. A baby is a blessing and we are all thrilled that he is finally here! The pictures include Dad and Dylan; Aunt Lauren and Dylan(look at all his hair!) and Dylan pondering his new world.

I'm Back

From nowhere. I have just been neglecting my blog. I really have no excuses. I have pictures to upload; interesting (well, to me, at least!) news and yet I post nothing.

The big news here is that my daughter is pregnant again. Yay!!! She is expecting her second baby next May. We are very happy. Michael, the big brother is telling every one that is is a girl. It would be fun to make some pretty little girl things. And all the new toys out there for girls! I want that life-sized doll house thingy I see on tv for myself!

Right now I am in Baltimore visiting my oldest daughter. I spent yesterday on the train. Today we went to a fabric store in Columbia where I picked up 3 free sample books and a yard of silk that retails for $130/yd that I got for $12. It was and upholstry/home dec outlet store. We may get out to a quilt store tomorrow. I came down with my Amy Butler weekender bag. I am taking home Adrienne's Vera Bradley duffle bag. Well at least now I know she will visit: she wants that bag back!

I have also been to one quilt show and a quilter's holiday in the past month. I will post the pictures when I get home. Yes, I know-they have been sitting in my camera for over a month. This time I promise.

All is well with the family and work. Still not enough time to do all I want but I have to say that today I am feeling very blessed. I have the time and means to travel; my family is healthy and happy and right now, all is right with the world.

May it stay that way.

Title, Please

I read so many wonderful blogs and the one question I have is, how do you come up with such interesting and provocative titles for your posts? I spend more time on that sometimes than the post itself.

I started work this week. Even though I see my grandson often, I had forgotten what a group of 4, 5, and 6 year-olds can be like. They are full of questions, insights, and concerns about the world around them. We have 11 children in the a.m. and 19 in the p.m. I have really enjoyed my time with them and I work with a wonderful group of adults. I can honestly say, I like my job!

I have had to adjust my schedule and I am trying to be productive. I get up, get my husband to work, shower and dress, take the dog for a walk (more on him later), pick up the house, figure out dinner, maybe some time to sew and then off to work. Coming home at 6 p.m. is tough, so far I have been exhausted. This can be my time for hand work-my second block from Leanne's house arrived 2 weeks ago and I haven't even touched it. I am almost finished with a sewing bag that I have been working on.

And then there is Buddy. Last week was tough on him. My husband worked 6 days in a row (we are talking about 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. each day) and Lauren and I were both out of the house ALOT. He had a couple accidents this weekend and was very hyper. His misses us all terribly when we are gone-especially my husband. Hopefully this week he will be better- my DH won't be gone so many hours. Don't worry- Buddy got extra loving this weekend. By the way, check out his paws- Do you think he is going to be big??






And, here is a picture of a purse I completed. Not one of my favorites but it is done.


Next time, I will share some of my latest purchases. Come back and visit!

Happy New Year!

Yes, I know that is is September but I have always felt that this month, more than January, brings more changes in my life. It is time to go back to school (which has always been bittersweet for my children and me). This is when I give my sewing room a good cleaning, pull out my fall clothes and start cooking again! The nights are cooler and even though the days can still be warm, it just feels different. Yesterday I made a pot of turkey soup and today I pulled out some of my fall decorations. I really want to go to the store and buy fabric but I have held out so far. I did go to JoAnn's yesterday and stock up at the notions wall (50 % off!).

I have a job. I taught 3rd grade for 7 years and when my school closed I was heartbroken. I did not even try really hard to get a job last year; I subbed a few time and collected unemployment.
One day this summer I was collecting my grandson from the daycare of our local YMCA and commented to the director how impressed I was with the kindergarten daycare program that my grandson had attended. She mentioned that they were looking for an assistant teacher; I applied and got the job. I will be working with a great group of people. It is part time (11:30-6) and I am looking forward to earning my own money again. Just in time for my husband's birthday!

I also have a New Year's resolution. Last November I put a quilt in my frame with every intention og hand quilting it. Well we all know where those good intentions are. So I have decided that each morning before work I will quilt for at least 1/2 hour. I will post picture when I get a little further along.

Buddy is growing by leaps and bounds! He is good about going outside and has earned some time out in the living room with us after dinner. I walk him 2-3 times a day so I am hoping that as he grows I will shrink! (In the 2nd picture, Buddy and my daughter are with Buddy's best friend, Bella, and her owner, Sarah, who are our next door neighbors.)



I am also posting pictures of one of my very favorite quilts. I pieced this quilt from a kit (I actually turned it into 2 quilts-one still not completed...) and had it machine quilted at a local shop. I love the colors and wish I could hang it all year long. It hangs in my upstairs hall and can be seen from front door foyer. I love this quilt!

Another Sunday

No pictures today. Just an update. Adrienne was home this weekend and she kindly "volunteered" (read 'was talked into') helping me sort and clean up my fabric closet. This is actually good for her because I sent her home with some fabric, a few knitting UFO's for her to turn into something new, pattern and fabrics to make aprons and my serger. When I was sewing for my daughters it was constantly in use. I have not used it in the last 5 or 6 years. So now I know that it will be used again.

I cleaned out 2 LARGE garbage bags of fabric and about 50 various sewing magazines and gave it all to my good friend Betty. She loves to make scrap quilts and does wonders with orphan blocks. As it happens we were all invited to her daughter's house for lunch today so was happy and I was happy because
a: I did not have to cook today
b: I had a good time with good friends
c: All that fabric went to a good home
d: My closet is much cleaner
I have to resist the urge to go out and replace all the missing fabric. I am trying very hard to use fabric I already have and to only buy fabric for specific projects. I am going to try very hard to stop buying for a while because the closet is really not that empty.

As for other news around the homestead, Buddy the new puppy is growing by leaps and bounds. I have taught him to sit but if anyone has hints on how to control his chewing, PLEASE let me know.

Handwork

One of the blogs that I read regularly is Abyquilt. May is a quilter from Norway that does beautiful hand work including applique and embroidery. She also intersperses her entries with beautiful pictures of Norway and other places she has visited.
May regularly showcases her blocks that she is making by an Australian designer, Leanne Beasley. I was instantly hooked, browsed the web for several days before deciding to order a block of the month quilt designed by Leanne. I ordered this BOM (and several other patterns) from Honeysuckle Cottage in Bundarra, Australia. I got my first block completed while on vacation in Ocean City,MD with my husband and daughter, Adrienne. Take a look:

Puppy Love

We love our Buddy. he is lovable, playful, and sleeps without complaining in his crate. He is growing every day! However...It has been a very long time since we have had a puppy in our home. The cat is close to a nervous breakdown(although he has shown great restraint!) He really has had no accidents because WE are trained to get him outside to do his business. He loves to chew-I think he has more toys than my daughters did growing up! And he has learned to use his crate to climb onto the kitchen table if we are not in the kitchen (and sometimes when we are). But just like every baby, he is just adorable when he is sleeping.

Bag Lady

Lately I have been on a bag kick. It started when I went to NYC and bought a pattern and fabric for the Amy Butler Weekender Bag. Although very challenging, I really enjoyed making it and have used it quite a bit. And it really does hold enough clothes, etc., for a weekend.

Then I found a totebag pattern in my quilting magazine. I made the first one as directed although I misread (redesigned?) the directions for the handles. That is the yellow bag in the pictures. The next bag (the green and white), I tweaked the directions a little. I cut the squares a little smaller and replaced the batting in the bag with heavy weight iron-on interfacing. I also put a couple pockets on the inside. I use these bags as my summer purses.

I have pulled out the fabric for a purse from a Fon's and Porter Love of Quilting magazine from last year. I want to use that bag for a sewing bag-I will make some accessories to go with it. I will post that picture when it is finished.

You've Got to See the Baby!

Well, we finally did it. Yesterday we got a new puppy. His name is Buddy and he is a Lab mix with VERY big paws. Lauren is in love with him. She took him to Petco to pick out all his new things. Buddy loves to cuddle and seems to be a little lazy. When he is ready to sleep, he is ready to sleep! The kitty is not too sure of him but they are getting used to each other. EVERYONE seems to think he is just the cutest! What do you think?

Graduation Day!

Yesterday, my grandson graduated from the kindergarten program at his daycare. It was hard to tell who was more proud- the kids or the relatives in attendance. You decide. Here is a picture of Michael posing with "his Dash". The next picture is Michael just being Michael.

Good Friends

As promised here are just a few of the many pictures I have to post:

This first picture is of my very good friend Mimi and her family. Her son John just graduated summa cum laude from Gettysburg College. He is working at Harper's Ferry this summer and will be going to grad school in Washington,DC in the fall.






The next two pictures are of my good friend Betty's first grandchild Katelyn. I have known the family for many years. Katelyn's mom, Lora was just 8 years old when we first met! The first picture is Katelyn with her godparents (Lora's brother and his wife). The next picture is just Katelyn. We all agree she looks just like her Grampa!

So Lazy!

Oh dear!

I cannot believe it has been 2 months since I updated. I have been chastized by my daughter Adrienne (beautystattoo.blogspot.com) for not keeping this up and I really have no excuse.

I have been busy-a little of this and a little of that. I just completed an Amy Butler bag which I will put a picture up of very soon. I made a trip to NYC and Baltimore last month and I am trying to (ok-avoiding) get my house cleaned before summer sets in. My book club is coming on Tuesday for dinner-so that has spurred on a little more cleaning.

Adrienne has challenged me to make a quilt of some charm squares from Moda that we both bought. She is done already BUT her Amy Butler bag is not done yet!

Michael, my grandson has started his spring soccer league. I went to his game this morning-he scored a goal but they really don't keep score.

I need to post pictures for these and other event of the last 2 months...I will do that this week.

Funny-my life doesn't seem as boring as this post does!