Sweet Things

Been busy working on some red work pillows.

I love how they turned out.

I used Micro Soft Word to print the sayings.
The font is called PC Straight.
Transferred using my Frixion pen

stitched with perle cotton.
The fabric squares are scraps of flour sugar
one of my favorite lines. 

Finished off the pillow back with a yo-yo and button.

Layered the front and back and added binding.

Just like a little quilt. 

Sooo much easier than piping in my book and 

ooooo sew cute.

(Forgive my wrinkled background fabric)

Making chocolate candy in the crock pot.

Yep, you read that right, crock pot.

What would Valentine's Day be without Chocolate?

From Trisha Yearwood's cookbook.

Recipe here if you'd like to take a peek.

Hope you have the sweetest day!

Stormy Weather

WOW!

A storm passed thru this morning and left our deck a mess.

Guess I'll be looking for a new table at the end of the season.

We went to MLK on Sunday to celebrate Piper's First Birthday.

What a cutie!

I did a little stitching this week.

Finished up my BOM's for June & July.

And sewed 3 rows of my quilt together.

I'm half way there!

When the last block is posted I'll be on the home stretch.

(photo from Hoot-n-Nanny)

This pie recipe is perfect for summer.

NO BAKING.

But.........it must be refrigerated 8 hours before serving.

A good "make the the day before" if you remember.

I found the recipe here.

Lanell has how to photos and lots of tempting recipes.

(click on recipe to print)

What can I say......I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!!

Busy week ahead.

Friendship Stars Quilt Guild Picnic.
Sure to be a good time.
Isn't show & tell the best part of guild meetings?
Working on customer quilts.
And a "how to" on bais binding.
I've had several emails inquiring
 about the scallop edges on my redwork basket quilt.

Stay safe.

Left Overs & A Give Away

Don't ya just love left overs!

Whether it be food or fabric.

 Does this red work look familiar?

 In March
Debbie at Busy As Can Be  
offered this free embroidery pattern.
I stitched it on a tea towel
only to discover that it was waaay 
too pretty to get dirty.
(Picture grandson, running in, wiping his
cute little dirty-grubby hands on it).
So, I cut the tea towel and used my leftover fabrics
from my red work quilt to make this table topper.
It measures about 25" and so cute on my table!

 There was even enough left over 
bias binding to finish it off!

Thanks again Debbie for the pattern!

And speaking of cute......

 

 Mary Engelbreit's 

Bowl of Cherries fabric with polka dots.

 

 And cook book.

Just leave a comment and 

I'll try real hard to draw your name 

and send both, 

1 yard of fabric and the cookbook, to you.

P.S. I'll draw Saturday morning before I head out of town!

Toy Story 3 with Mac & Cheese

And a few Candy Land and Uno games thrown in.
That's how we spend our weekend.
The 4 yr old prince and 2 year old princess came for a visit.
Papa and I had so much fun!
Plus, I was able to get my coloring practice in.
Went for lunch at Mickey D's to use their playground
and burn off some of that energy.
I forgot how fast their little motors run!

Have you seen this Crab-apple Hill pattern
called Berry Picking Party?

This pattern is moving to the head of my line.

The photo doesn't do the pattern justice.
Here are a few of the stitchery patterns.
Wouldn't these be perfect on tea towels?

I stitched this last night while watching
the Academy Awards.
What a boring show.
Bring back Billy or Whoopi!
PLEASE.

Cute-Cute-Cute!If you want to learn more about PhotoShop,
check out Kim Klassen's website.
I just finished Kim's FREE
Skinny Mini eCourse.
I loved it.
The PhotoShop Recipe Book looks interesting.
Going to try it next.

Have you read
Water for Elephants?
Couldn't put it down.
Loved it!

Customer Quilt Show on Friday.
Hope you'll stop back.

OOOO NO, tomorrow is March 1st.
You know the saying,
"In like a lion, out like a lamb".
Keeping my fingers crossed
Stay warm.

Free Pattern & A Bargain!

Happy Heart Day!!

Lookey here.
Isn't this just the cutest dang tea towel pattern!
And it's free from....
Debbie at Busy As Can Be

Debbie suggest using a lightweight interfacing or pellon
on the back of the embroidery.
Something I've never tried before.
Makes for smooth stitches.
And no thread shadows.
I'll definitely be using her technique again.

And now for my bargain.

Carpet cutting blades from Freight Harbor.
They fit my Olfa 45 mm rotary cutter
and cut cotton fabric like butter.
The cost....drumroll please....
$1.99 a pack.
In fact, I picked mine up yesterday at the store
and they were on sale for $1.49 per pack.
Sew, let's see $6.99 OR $1.00 per blade.
I can change blades 7 times for the same cost.
Give them a try and
let me know what you think....
I see no draw backs.
Yet.

Oh, and I celebrated a birthday last week.
Lordy, don't make me say which one.

Here is my NO CALORIES birthday cake.
Just Beautiful.
Thank you Peggy Sue.

And now I need to rant a little.
Yesterday, hubby and I went to the movies.
Saw The Fighter,
with Christian Bale & Mark Walburg.
Great movie. Mark is such a hunk.
But I digress.....
It's the COST of admission and snacks!
Afternoon senior price $7.50 each.
We splurged and shared one
soda and popcorn for $12.50.
Shared, being the key word here.
Total $27.50.
That's a lot of Red Box movies
and pop corn let me tell ya.
I know some movies need to be seen on the BIG screen.
Avatar, being one.
But really.
Who will be able to afford to go to the movies before long?
Forget families.

Okay, I'm over it.

Hugs and Valentine Kisses.

The True Feeling of Christmas

"There, but for the grace of God, go I".
I thought this was a proverb from the Bible.
My mistake.
It is a quote by John Bradford,
made in the mid-sixteenth-century.
It kept ringing in my ears on Christmas Day.

Mike and I volunteered to help serve meals
to needy families in our community.
The atmosphere was festive,
live Christmas music, Santa, and lots of delicious hot food.
There were 800 meals served.
That number included meals delivered to shut-ins.

I can't begin to tell you how much joy was in the room!
The children were excited to get a gift from Santa.
Maybe the only one they received this year.
People lingered over coffee, talking and singing.
Having an extra serving of pie.

I know it sounds corny, like in the movies, but
it warms your soul.
Making your blessings even more appreciated!
After 60 odd years,
I found the true feeling of Christmas!

Ohhhhh....I hope you had warm and wonderful weekend.
And that Santa was extra good to you.

I did get a little sewing done.
And lots of ripping!
I'm making the chain blocks for the Snow Bound quilt.
Scrappy red and white.
I'm tempted to stitch another set of blocks in blue.
It was so much fun!

I'm heading out tomorrow to pick up a couple grand kids.
Bring them back to "Grandmaville"
Plan to see the Yogi Bear movie for the 7 year old
and go bowling.
Bake cookies with my 10 year old grand daughter and
hope we get a little stitching time together.

Didn't I tell you we are blessed!

See you next year!

Christmas without cookies?
I think not!

Check out the Cookie Exchange
Jodi from Pleasant Home is hosting.
Click on the photo and turn on the oven!

Here is one of our family favorites.
I posted it last year so it's a repeat.
But soooo worth it.

My oldest son Jeff doesn't call Christmas

"officially" here until he eats a dozen! Click on the recipe to enlarge.

Remember the free printable post?
Well, I changed my mind.
I should say frames.
I put the metallic ribbon matte into a white frame.
Doesn't it look so elegant?

I then used grosgrain ribbon to make a second one.
Polka Dots....of course.
It fits the red frame so much better.
Don't ya think?

Oh happy day......
A sign I believe!


Wouldn't this look so cute on a cookie exchange table?
Or above the cookie jar?

Just click on the image to enlarge.
Save image to your computer.
And print.
It fits a 5 x 7 frame.


And last but not least.
A BIG*BIG*BIG
THANK YOU
to Anne from Bunny Hill Designs
for the free BOM pattern she made
available this year (and last).

I can't wait to see the finished quilts!

I'm heading to the big city tomorrow morning
to help out for a few days with the youngest grand babies.
Oh how I miss those hugs & kisses.

In case you need a little holiday pick me up.

How can you not smile after watching this????

Stay safe & warm.
And may the holiday spirit follow you
wherever you go!

St Louie here we come....

Another FUN trip to the Apple Butter House
for a FAB-U-LOUS Country Christmas!

A girlfriends day out.
Shopping at Hobby Lobby,
after getting our creative juices flowing.
Lunch at Olive Garden for
all you can eat soup, salad & bread sticks.

And a new pair of shoes.
Perfect day in my book!

Just a few of the cute displays.
I wish I could set my tree in a metal bucket or basket.
Isn't that just the cutest!
And a new purpose for an old boot.
Next week I'll show you
what treasure I found for my front porch.

Meanwhile, I've been stitching some red work.
Here are the October & November blocks from Snowbound.
I've gotta get them in the mail tomorrow.
Carolyn, I haven't forgotten you!!
Just one more block!
I can't wait to see your finished quilt.
I've been collecting reds and whites,
one fat quarter at a time.

And do you remember Anne's
A Tiskit A Tasket BOM from last year?
Well, I'm almost done.
Just 2 more blocks to finish (on our road trip to St Louis).
You can see I added some lattice to the baskets
to fill in the empty space.
I love how they turned out!

Here's a project I've been working on in Photo Shop.
Family Rules.
I'm taking one to each family we are visiting with in St Louis.
This sub way art is really the rage in all the "up scale" catalogs" this year.

Well.....a girl has to stay busy... even with a broken arm!

I made a "font" list.
It's amazing all the free font sites on the web.
These are from Scrap Village.

Lastly, I've gotta share a "bright idea" I had
while shopping at Hobby Lobby.
They sell an assortment of boxes for baked goods.
The long narrow cupcake box fit quilt strips perfectly.

Best part, they were half price!
10 boxes for $2.99.
I'm sure I can find a spot for red polka dots somewhere.....

Stay safe this Thanksgiving holiday.
And remember to count your blessings.
When I count mine, your on the top of the list!
Thanks for stopping by.