A Little of This, A Little of That

Ok everybody, make sure you head on over to The Robin's Nest for a really super incredible giveaway- Trust me, you're gonna want to get in on this one! Robin has included all kinds of goodies- an apron that she made herself, a couple of cute snowmen, jewelry, soaps, note cards.... wow this is a good one!

Yesterday while "helping" in the studio, Maddie was intrigued by something at the window- a beautiful Cardinal couple. I managed to get the female, but the male was gone by the time I could grab the camera. (The picture is blurry because I took it through the window screen.)

A few minutes later, some nice fat mourning doves came to visit- Maddie liked them, too (she would have preferred to meet them face to face, instead of through the window, but c'est la vie, Maddie.)
I dropped a couple of quilts off to the machine quilter the other day, including this one that I had done a sneak peak for last month... So I will be able to show you that one soon. Sometimes it is frustrating as a designer, because I am working on things all the time, but very often I can't show them until they are done, and I have the pattern published. So even though I might work all day (or 2 or 3, or a whole week), I can't really post it for awhile. It's a bummer to work on something all day, and then in the evening feel like I have nothing to post on! Yesterday and today I worked on a new product which won't debut until the spring... It's so cute and I wish I could show it to you all... But it's a brand new idea in the market and so I really can't until it's completely done and published. Sorry for that teaser (I'm sure it hurts me more than it hurts you- HA HA).

And finally, I received THIS in the mail the other day:

I am 42, people! And this is not a mistake because my husband got one, too, about 6 months ago (thought they did spell my name wrong). What is going on? Sheesh, those "retired people" are aggressive. Maybe they should just start handing their notices out with high school diplomas, or birth certificates.....

So that's it for now. Have a great day.

Introducing... Message Pins

Here is the new design I have been working on.... I am introducing Message Pins- wool pins which feature a hand made button with a meaningful and inspirational word or phrase. The button has a crackled vintage look. Buy one for yourself and tell the world that you are a dreamer...
or that you live life to its fullest.... or just to remind those around you to take time to giggle...And make sure you order a few for gifts- for mom, sister, friend, secret pal, teacher... for any very special person in your life.
Maybe you know someone who is curious....

Or who is a person of prayer...

Or who is an artiste'...

As with my other pins, all of the profits will be donated to charity. The proceeds raised will be used to buy sheep for poor families around the world, allowing them to become self sufficient and literally changing lives. The pins come packaged on a keepsake card (see below).

I believe that we all want to leave the world better than we found it...won't you please join me in this important endeavor... give a gift that the recipient will love and appreciate, and that is truly meaningful and will make a difference in our world...

I have worked on a large assortment of phrases and colors, and each one is different. They are available at my Etsy shop and on my website. Order now and you will have them in plenty of time for the holidays (and since each one is unique, you will want to choose yours early for best selection...)

"...a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has..."

Margaret Mead

Working on a Christmas Village

Our church decided in, like, September, that we should do a "miniature" Victorian Christmas village (and by miniature, I mean 3/4 scale, so pretty close to life size.) I had serious doubts as to whether it could be pulled off, but a remarkable amount of work has gotten done. I can't wait to show the photos of all the sets when it is finally put up.

Somehow, in the past week, (and I really don't know how...) I managed to paint the bakery signs (thanks hubby for "volunteering" me!) Actually, he has done much more work on the village than I have. I had planned on being very involved, but you know how things have been going around here! The long sign was easy, but the square one was a little harder. Not only did I have to come up with some bakery type goods to paint on it, but it had to be done on both sides. If you have ever tried to paint two things the same that are right next to each other, you know how tricky that can be- but try painting opposite sides, so you can't see exactly what the other side looks like while you are painting, plus you have to worry about the wet paint when you flip it over to work on the other side. All in all, I am pretty happy with the way they came out (and both sides actually look fairly similar!)

Monday I will be posting my new product, which I hope will be quite popular, I am pretty excited about it. Hint- it is a variation on something I have been making and selling for a few years.

Have a great weekend.

An Update

It seems like forever since I last "checked in." How did it get to be Wednesday already????

We had planned on my daughter going back to college on Monday, but although she looked much better over the weekend, she woke up feeling really sick again on Monday (thank goodness we hadn't taken her back yet.) I took her back to the ENT, who said that since the oral antibiotics and steroids weren't working, we should admit her to the hospital for IV antibiotics and a stat CT scan. So we went directly to the hospital, and the CT scan showed an abcsess much bigger than the doctor expected- in fact she said that she has patients with abscesses half that size who are just knocked out. She couldn't believe that my daughter was walking around and looking as good as she did.... So Monday evening they took her into surgery to drain it, and she immediately felt better. She was able to come home Tuesday (yesterday) and we are hoping that she should be fine to go back to class on Monday- she will have missed 2 whole weeks of classes at that point. I called her school and they were very understanding. Now we are looking at having her tonsils removed over Christmas break, so we can finally be done with this thing. Wheww!!!

I want to thank everyone once again for their prayers and kind words and emails- what a balm to my soul you all have been.... I will try to get around to visiting all of your wonderful blogs soon so I can see what you all have been up to lately.

At least I did manage to get done quite a bit of hand sewing while sitting over at the hospital. I have a new product that I am working on, should be done in time for Christmas- I think it will make wonderful heartfelt gifts for the holidays (with all proceeds going to charity). I will let you know in a day or two what it is and how you can order them. For now, here is a sneak peek and a little message from me to you....

Feathered Friend/ Ornament Exchange

Daughter is still home, she is looking much better but she has to go back to the ENT on Monday morning before she can go back to school. We are hoping that she can go back on Monday afternoon, she has already missed a full week of school. She really needs to get back so she can catch up, but I also don't want her to go back too early and have a relapse. The back of her throat still looks pretty gnarly, but it's better than before. Grandmom is still in the hospital but is also feeling better and hopefully she will get to come home on Monday or Tuesday. Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers and kind words.

Yesterday, I pulled into the driveway to find the dog standing on the picnic table, looking up in the tree and barking like crazy. I didn't think much of it, that is pretty typical for her, she is always barking at something. Younger daughter mentioned that there was a large bird in the tree, I looked up and saw what I first thought was a vulture, which is also pretty typical around here. But then I realized it was not a vulture, not a hawk.... We believe that it was an immature bald eagle - right there in my tree, just a few feet from out house- Wow! He was not afraid of us at all, the dog kept barking and barking (I'm pretty sure the bird outweighed the dog- and do you see those talons?!?), but the eagle just looked kind of curious as he looked down, probably wondering what that yippy little thing was. The dog probably should have been afraid, but I guess she's just not that smart... Eventually, he flew away, but I did not get a photo because I was messing around with some adjustments on the camera and missed it. I got a lot of photos of him in the tree. I thought it was pretty cool.

Also, Kate at the Accidental Traveler is hosting an ornament exchange. There is still time to participate. Sounds like fun!

It's Always Something

My daughter called home yesterday morning at about 7:20 am, saying she was really sick again and didn't know what to do. I immediately drove up to pick her up and took her to the doctor here at home. Her doctor thinks she does not have mono, but has an abcess on her tonsil. So this morning we had to go to the ENT first thing, and she is now on steroids in addition to the antibiotics and Vicodin (for severe throat pain.) Hopefully, she will respond to treatment soon and no further intervention will be needed (I won't get into the icky details). We hope that she will be able to go back to class on Monday. And to top it off, they are admitting my grandmother to the hospital this afternoon for pneumonia; I will try to get to the hospital (about 40 minutes away) tomorrow to see her. So around here we eating lots of chicken soup and taking Vitamin C and trying to stay healthy.

It's always something, isn't it? Just when you think you are ready to coast along, some bump in the road appears. When I looked at my calendar on Monday morning, I had almost nothing scheduled for the week and figured I'd spend just about every day in the studio. Alas, it has been a very unproductive week, so far. Oh well, that's just the way it goes. I'm just glad that I have the flexibility to be around for my family when they need me, I realize that a lot of people don't have that option. Maybe I'll get something done tonight after dinner. Or maybe I'll just hang out on the sofa with my daughter, a bowl of ice cream, and the remote- sounds good right about now!

Hope you are all staying well and healthy. Happy Wednesday (we're over the hump! Weekend, here we come!)

Thanksgiving is Coming...

Halloween has come and gone which means it is now time to get ready for Thanksgiving (watch out, that means Christmas will be here before we know it.)

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving (besides the turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie- Oh My!) is my redware turkey platter. I love taking him out at this time every year. My daughter was unpacking some fall decorations a couple of weeks ago and found him wrapped up in paper and asked me if I wanted her to take him out to see him. I declined, deciding that I would rather "unveil" him from his protective paper wrapping at just the right time, and today was the day (gosh I am weird.) But anyway, here he is, in all of his turkey glory. Isn't he a beauty?

I think he is just a masterpiece. He was made by Eldreth Pottery, in neighboring Lancaster County, PA. Eldreth is always one of my first stops when I visit Lancaster County. I have many pieces now, some are out all year long, others are seasonal and for special occasions.

Below are some of my favorite Eldreth Pottery bowls, I think they are so beautiful. They reflect the Pennsylvania German style that I so admire. Something about their utilitarian beauty just seems to take me back to a simpler time.

This pumpkin platter comes out in September and stays out until the Christmas decorations go up, the day after Thanksgiving...
And just to make things more interesting around here, my daughter called home from college yesterday, sounding just terrible. She has had a cold and sore throat for a few weeks that she has not been able to shake. Yesterday she was to the point where she could not swallow, because her throat hurt so badly. I told her to have her roommate drive her to the ER, thinking they would just do a strep culture and send her home with an antibiotic. Shortly after they arrived, her roommate called to tell me that they had started an IV, which of course makes an absent mother a little uneasy. Turns out she probably has mono, and they did rehydrate her and send her home with pain medication and antibiotics. I talked to her this morning, offered to come pick her up and bring her home for a few days, but she says she is feeling better and will just stay there. This is when I feel guilty for not being there, but proud of her independence. I guess we are never too old to experience growing pains. The letting go is hard, but I love to watch as she spreads her wings to fly...

Into the Sun

The kingdom of darkness is never in more danger than when man looks around at his circumstances and sees little sign of God or His mercy, but trusts Him anyway.
C.S. Lewis

Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and email me after my last (dark) post. I am feeling a little better- I am still avoiding the news (for now, anyway). I am trying to get out of the house a little every day (I tend to be a loner and like being by myself, which isn't always good for me). And I am trying to make sure that I do something nice for someone else every day, just to make sure that I'm not always on my own mind. Mostly, I am spending more quiet time with God, praying and reading comforting words from my Bible. I really do appreciate all of the kind words and encouragement that you all so generously shared- that alone has shown that there is goodness and light in this world. So, thank you, thank you, thank you....

It is the cry of our hearts amidst the pain. I've thought about the thousands of times that it was the only word I was able to speak before God- Why? .... That one word enters the heavens and heads straight into the throne room thousands of times a day, I believe. But I believe also that those words hit merciful ears- Although He holds the future and sees the whole of eternity, He knows that we have limited ability to process His plans and His purposes. He knows that we get focused on our pain and not on Him. We forget that whatever the need is, whatever the need is, He will be the provision. Kathy Troccoli from Seven Celebrations for the Soul



Now I think we deserve to have a little fun... This is really amusing, I'm sure it will bring back a lot of memories to you all....
No matter how many times I see it, THIS CRACKS ME UP EVERY TIME!!!!!

Dark to Light

Today it is cold and windy and rainy and dark- which is OK, because it fits my mood right now.

Lately, I have had this vague feeling of hopelessness, which last night seemed to have cemented itself to my being. I just cannot seem to shake this feeling that nothing really matters. I have not been able to watch or listen to the news for weeks. When a political ad comes on the TV, I change the channel. I cannot even enjoy my "refuge" of the FoodNetwork and HGTV, usually free of those kinds of ads, because there are political ads there, now, too. It seems there is no escape. And so now the answer is that I cannot have the TV on, or listen to the radio, or read the newspaper. My world is getting smaller and smaller. Everything just seems so depressing, and not just the politics. It seems that we have just lost our way, it seems harder and harder to find truth and goodness in our society. It seems that anything goes- as long as it makes you "happy" then it's OK to go ahead and do it. Nothing is sacred- not our words or promises, not our relationships or our bodies.

Usually I am able to use bad news as an opportunity for prayer- I used to be able to pray for issues and people as I heard about them or read about them. But lately, that is difficult for me. I feel like I have been swallowed up by a "why bother?" attitude- it seems that praying does no good. While I know God is here and I know deep within me that He cares and He is soveriegn and in control of every situation, there is a part of me here in the day-to-day that doubts. I want to run and hide, to immerse myself in my own world and not come out.

I know that the answer to this is to do exactly the opposite of what I feel like doing: the more I feel like hiding, the more I need to run to the light. The more I feel like secluding myself from the world, the more I need to get out and help others and be a part of the solution. I wonder if this isn't part of my problem- I can pray and pray and pray for situations, which is good and God wants me to do- but I also have to do what I can to be part of the solution. God calls me to be His hands and feet here on the earth, and I must admit that lately I have fallen miserably short on that calling. It really is a vicious cycle- I am selfish, so I am not part of the good in the world, so I do not see what is good, so I feel hopeless and helpless, so I figure "why bother?", and so I am more selfish......

I know that I have not been called to be Mother Teresa, to sell everything I own to live in poverty. But surely I have been called to more than just living in my own little world. Today I am dropping off a donation at the local food bank. And I am calling someone whose life I really don't feel like getting involved in, but I know needs a lot of support right now. And I am praying, praying for what seems to be the most hopeless situations, with faith that if I never see the answer, God has heard my prayers and has answered in ways I may never know.


Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Worry says, "God is a wimp." Casting says, "God is all powerful." J. Jay Sanders

The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Love bore our sins away;
Love gave us life anew;
Love opened wide the gates of heaven;
Love gave us work to do.
Ruth A. Atwell

Today as my remedy, I won't run away from the pain but I run to God. I embrace His promises, even though sometimes those promises seem hard for me to believe. I choose the Light.

Free Apron Pattern

This is the project that I finished last week (only took a couple of hours, once I got the embroidery done). I think it is just so darn cute, I am putting the directions on my website. CLICK HERE for the directions.

I would have loved to have worn it while I was carving my pumpkin last week, but I didn't want to get it covered with pumpkin guts! You could do this with any of the free embroidery patterns on my website, or any of your favorites, or if you don't want to embroider it, you could leave the pocket plain or use any quilt block that you like. These will come together very quickly for gifts, make them for any season (or for all the seasons- I'm already planning on doing a Christmas version.)My daughter has the day off from school today, so she has been so kind as to break out all of the fall decorations that I have been meaning to put up for about a month now. I'm even going to get her to do some baking for me today (lucky for me, this is her favorite hobby.)

And I actually did cut into that gorgeous wool that arrived the other day.... Here is the project that I started:
I have so many hand-sewing projects started, I keep saying I won't start anymore, but I do love working with wool, it's so relaxing- no edges to turn under or prep like appliquing with cottons. It's always nice to have an assortment of projects to choose to work on in the evening- when I sit down to sew, I can decide whether to do cotton applique, wool applique, embroidery, needle punch embroidery. I know this probably sounds like rationalization for having so many projects started, but I think the variety actually helps me to complete more projects, since I don't get bored.

So how many projects do you have started, and what are YOUR rationalizations/excuses?

Prettiest Pumpkin

This weekend was our county's annual Great Pumpkin Carve to benefit Meals on Wheels (an organization that delivers meals to the elderly and shutins.) I figured it would be fun to do- I did, however, underestimate how long it would take to carve a 150 lb. pumpkin. Or how much my back and arms would ache the next day.... I actually hadn't planned on doing it, but I found out the night before that they had some people back out and needed some additional carvers, so I signed on....

The inside of the pumpkin all has to be scraped away- there were buckets of pumpkin guts...
I started carving at 8 am, finished at about 3 pm (yeah, I know, 7 hours to carve a pumpkin- who knew?) There were people who were done way before me- the fact that I did the entire thing with an Xacto knife probably had something to do with it. If I do this next year, I will invest in some better tools...My typical themes- flowers, butterflies- most of the other pumpkins were more Halloween themed.

In the end, I managed to walk away with the prize for Prettiest Pumpkin (I think the last time I won something was a coloring contest in Kindergarten...)
My daughter and 2 of her friends did a pumpkin based on their favorite book....

There were hayrides and facepainting and lots of homemade pumpkin baked goods. But we couldn't leave without having some funnel cake...
Well, now, I have a big pile of beautiful wool calling my name. Happy Monday!

What's (Still) Going on in the Studio

I posted this photo last week, I thought I was pretty close to having this project done...
Well, I am still working on it. I managed to get this pieced border done, but it took me way longer than it should have (arghhh- I hate math!....) It took me 3 tries to figure out how many squares I needed- and it really shouldn't have because they're 1" blocks, so basically a 5th grader should be able to do the math. But that is just how it goes sometimes. Sometimes I breeze right through a project, and other times it just becomes a "work in progress"...

Since I usually design as I go when I am putting together a project, a lot of times I will work on it for a while and then set it aside and come back to it later. So it goes with this "work in progress," not sure what the next component of it will be, or maybe it is already done. I will have to live with it a while before I decide.

I did finish this embroidery, the pattern can be found on my Free Pattern Page. And I managed to make it up into a super cute project, just need to get it photographed, so I'll put that up as soon as I can. (And it only took me a few hours to put the project together, just breezed right through it, go figure.)

And look what I got in the mail yesterday! It was almost like Christmas, or maybe a visit from the *Wool Fairy*. I ordered 20 different quarter yard cuts Waterpail deSigns, and I was so excited and delighted when I opened the box. They are so pretty- can't wait to get started with these. Actually, it makes me happy to just sit and look at them... *sigh*. I almost hate to cut into them, but I can guarantee you that when I do cut into them, I will roll them back into neat little bundles so no one will be the wiser. Yes, I am a woman of simple tastes... (But believe me, that doesn't always necessarily translate into "cheap" or "inexpensive," ask my hubby...)

Have a great weekend, everybody!

A Salute to Moms (aka Because I Said So, Because I'm the Mom)

This is very very funny, some of you may have seen it a year or so ago when it first came out. Let me say it again- VERY VERY FUNNY!!
It will take a few minutes to load- I suggest walking away from the screen for a few minutes while it loads, then watch the whole thing in its entirety.


See- I told you it was funny!