I really need to decorate my house.
The shelves are still pretty bare from taking all the Christmas stuff down.
I think I am reluctant to do it because deep down I want to move.
I’m ready to decorate a DIFFERENT house. LOL
My Mom says I am a gypsy, and I think she is right.
What I have been doing is finishing new pin-keeps for the shop!
Hope your day is fantastic!
Melissa
you are too cute for words!
Thanks to Sharon posting about her love for Raggedy Ole Annies, I am now the proud owner of
this adorable sugar booger. She came in the mail today.
I’m in love.♥
Oh no!! Now I want another one.
I finished my civil war quilt and sent it off to the quilter today, so for now I am going to work on
pin cushions for the shop and stare at my new dolly.
Have a lovey day!
Meilssa
Well it was bound to happen.
Winter has finally come to Michigan.
I kept telling the hubs that I REALLY deep down felt that we were going to get all the way to April with no real crazy cold/snow winter.
“After 40 years of Michigan winters I can’t believe you would even set yourself up like that,” he said.
But I did. I did set myself up like that. Because when you can go out in just a sweatshirt in Michigan all the way to January 12th….that’s crazy.
So now we are covered in snow, and I am day dreaming all day long about when I can get back out into my Shasta and start camping.
I’ve told you before I have crafter’s A.D.D.
In between day dreams of the Shasta and designing some new patterns I have been tinkering with little crafts that make me happy and make me think of spring to come.
I stopped in the middle of making a civil war quilt yesterday and made this little wooden spool doo-dad to hold my cross stitch scissors:
Then this afternoon while I was sewing I kept looking at these little ruler boxes I made for my mom and I.
Ohhhhh! I thought. I can make a mini diorama! Remember those?
The other one I just stuck a pincushion in, my Pinocchio tape measure and some sewing supplies.:
Okay enough distracting myself, I need get back to my quilt. Wish me luck!
Later Gators,
Melissa
I’ve been meaning to do this little P.S.A. for quilters for awhile now.
It is about Free Motion Quilting woes.
(I am in no way associated with the companies I am recommending, I just like these and think you might too!
Although if these companies WANT to send me an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii, I’ll take it. )
I was really starting to have a hard time free motion quilting a few months ago. Frustration city!
I’ve quilted dozens of quilts, was I loosing my mind?
Then I took a look at my quilting gloves and noticed that the rubber had completely worn off!
Jeeesh! No wonder. I didn’t have any gripping traction.
So friends, if you are having a hard time free motion quilting, make sure you have a decent pair of quilting gloves, it really does make all the difference!
There are plenty of types out there, but I like the ones with an all rubber palm. These are the kind I like best:
While I was buying my new gloves I decided to try one of these:
STOP THE PRESSES! This thing is amazing and it makes me so dang sad I didn’t buy this 20 quilts ago.
It’s a sheet of something (Teflon maybe?) that you cling to your machine bed and the quilt just glides like butter when you are free motion quilting!
Go get one. Today!
I’ve been working on a new wool applique pattern using Barbara Brackman’s new line 1862 Battle Hymn. It’s a really nice pallet.
They didn’t have yardage out yet when I was at the quilt shop, so I just did what they would have done in 1862 and made do with something else.
I was actually glad that I had to make do because it gave me the chance to break out this hand dyed cotton I have been hording for a few years.
It has the most wonderful texture and color, I just like touching it and haven’t wanted to cut into it. Silly!!
Back to work, Later Gators!
Melissa
Happy brand new, fresh, squeaky clean year to you!
I’m cleaning up the Christmas today. It’s the longest I’ve kept the Christmas decor up, and I still feel a little unready to see it go. But go it must!
The BG went back to work today after a nice long 11 day vacation and
the kids begin school again tomorrow. I’d like a fresh slate, therefore they will be cleaning their room today too! Wish me luck with that. (wink)
Now let’s see….goals, goals goals, what are my New Year goals?
*hug and snuggle more
*drink more water
*dance more
*camp more.
There now…I’ve made mostly all fun (except drinking water..yuck) goals so I will be sure to reach them! That’s how you make yourself feel really successful! hehehe
Mom and Dad came over New Years Day for dinner and company. While my Dad and the BG watched the football game, Mom and I whipped up a little project
in my sewing room.
It’s called Stitchers Studio from the Aug 2011 American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine. I made mine in brights for my sewing room,
and mom made her’s in homespun for her sewing room. I love the little sewing machine!
I think I will start and little mini quilt collection above my bookshelf here:
I’ve also been working on a buggy barn quilt. Have you tried a buggy barn pattern? I forgot how much fun they are.
You just chop it up into a picture shuffle the fabrics and sew it back together again! So fun.
I’ve got quite a few more blocks to go and the sashing, but I’m just having fun with this one, no rush.
I listed a few more pinkeeps today at my Etsy shop. I’ve had a few requests for more of the pinkeeps with woolen strawberries on top so I will work on those
this week!
Thanks for visiting!
Later gators,
Melissa
It wasn’t my intention to stay away from blogging, but you know how the hustle and bustle can get ya this time of year.
We’ve been enjoying the festivities. We had our wassail party again this year, and the kids put on a darling Christmas concert at school.
We’ve been shopping and dancing and singing.
All that is left is wrapping the presents and baking the cookies today.
I’ll be in the kitchen if ya need me =)
We are heading to Indiana in the middle of this week to share Christmas with my side and then back home for the big day and then to my Mother in laws for Christmas
with the BG’s side.
Wishing you all the Merriest of Christmases!!!!
God Bless and See ya in the New Year,
Melissa
We are always trying to build new Christmas traditions at our home to make the Holidays special for our kids.
We also want our kids to know the true reason we celebrate Christmas….Jesus of course!
So when I read this post at Homespun Living a seed was planted. Then after a conversation with a bloggy friend- Flatlander (Linda) I knew we must bring this tradition
to our table. The Advent Wreath.
The BG grew up doing this at his family’s dinner table too!
So last week The BG and I created what is possible the ugliest Advent Wreath every known to man. I went to the basement and pulled out a box of forlorn Christmas floral picks, and
checked in the used candle tub and brought it all upstairs.
We used an old cabbage slicer and started filling it up.
We were giggling the whole time saying less is more, but we couldn’t stop throwing almost everything that was in the old box into the cabbage slicer!
The results are pretty funny, but the lighting of the candle (s) and a reading from the Bible each night at dinner are already precious!! and a tradition we will
incorporate into Christmas from now on!
Tonight we light candle #1 and #2!!! Three weeks until Christmas YAAA HOOOO!
Later Gators!
Melissa
So whatcha makin’ for gifities this year?
I am using Monica’s awesome free Pick-a-pocket pattern for the girls’ teachers. I thought it would make a great little lunch bag/teacher tote. They are also getting
a matching lanyard. This was my trial run lanyard with multi-fabrics, but I think I would like just one fabric better….so we’ll see how I do on the next one.
I need 4 purses and 4 lanyards to gift, so I am pretty close to done with those.
I used the DS Daisy Mae fabric. I fell in love with the look of this line. I think I am going to make myself a netbook bag out of it!
And for extended family I am making rice bags.
OH MY GOODNESS!!
I know I am late to the game with these, but my oh my we have fallen in love with heated rice bags!
The BG had a sore neck a few weeks ago and I said, “hmm I’ve seen these rice bags on blogs forever, let me whip you one up.”
He used it constantly for the rest of the week. The girls and I kept trying to steal it.
His solution…
make more!! A 25 lb bag of rice from Sam’s Club can make some serious rice bags. LOL
They are great for cramps, hurts, ouchies, and just to warm up your feet in bed. You can make small ones to put in kids coat pockets to warm up little hands too!
You MUST make yourself one!!!
Later Gators!
Melissa
I wanted to give something nice for Christmas to anyone who reads this little ole blog, but I haven’t hit the lottery… YET!!
So instead I wrote up a nice little table runner pattern for you to make and give away, or for you to make and keep!
Maybe print a couple out and tuck them into the gifts you give your quilting friends?
Everyone loves a free pattern right? =)
So print it out and get into your “Christmas Elf” sewing room and get busy! LOL
This PDF is right here:
Winter Celebrations Freebie Christmas Pattern
Merry Christmas!
Melissa
We had an awesome Thanksgiving meal provided by the loving hands of our extended family this year.
My contribution was 4 pumpkin pies, 1 cherry pie, 1 cherry cheesecake, and 1 coconut cream pie, and one very sore burn on my wrist.
I burn myself in the same spot on my wrist every year baking pies…jeesh.
We tried something new and held the feast at my Uncle Mike’s employee room.
Wow, there were so many cool things to do there, video games, pinball machines, Wii, pool, huge T.V. … it was really lovely and the kids had a blast.
It has become tradition for The BG and I, and my brother and his wife to do some Christmas shopping on this weekend
while we are all staying at Mom and Dad’s house and they can watch our kids.
I noticed this year that people feel VERY strongly about the early store openings and Black Friday in general.
I’m expecting bumper stickers, and a “occupy” movement to crop up. LOL
It HAS gotten a little earlier each year. Last year we went to Toys R Us at midnight, this year we got in line a 8:30pm.
Crazy you say? Maybe, but we do have so much fun catching up with eachother in line without our kids needing us.
I noticed that people were very festive and laid back where I was, but I heard there were some looney pepper spray incidents out there.
Hope you all were safe and full this weekend =)
Crossing off toys on my children’s Christmas Lists got me thinking about the toys that I loved and received when I was a little one.
Did you have any of these?
Oh my beloved Fashion Plates! The Little Professor, Speak and Spell, and Spirograph, I think we got a new Spirograph almost every year.
One thing we were guaranteed to get every year was a new book or two (Thanks Mom!)
But when I got this, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
I can’t remember what my record player really looked like but I know it was in a box like this one:
And lots of these:
I have VERY fond memories of listening for hours and hours to my Book and Record books. I still remember the songs!
The only toy I still have from those long ago Christmases is a stuffed dog I got when I was about 7. He was my “early” present.
Mom or Dad (not sure which but I would guess it was my Dad because he can never wait) would let us open a
present on Christmas Eve.
Dog has had many surgeries to sew him back up, but I still love him so.
Stop back by later in the week for a Christmas present to YOU!
I have been working on writing a little pattern for a cute table runner as my gift to you.
Here is a sneak peek of the runner…..
