Well, it's the end of another year.  Not the best but not the worst one yet.
 
I've spent most of the day catching up on several blogs and generally getting lost in blogland. Man, there are so many talented people out here!!!
 
Tonight we'll go to the Legion Hall for a prime rib dinner.  There'll be music & dancing but us old fogies won't be able to stay awake 'til midnight.  Since it been snowing again we plan to be home waaaay early.
 
Best wishes for the new year to you all!

Merry Christmas everyone! Wishing each of you the blessings of this holy season. I am home from the South. An awesome time and a beautiful wedding. Right now we are in Creswell, Oregon spending Christmas with the kids & grandsons. What chaos! Well, gotta run. The fun continues!

I'm Back!!

Hello world!  My it's been a long, long time since I've posted here.  This is a no guilt zone so I won't go there.  Anyways, I've been busy sewing & stitching.  I'm so proud that I just had to share these pieces.  Four Quilts Of Valor.  One for my granddaughter's fiance and one each for the three veterans that will be his groomsmen.

We leave this week-end for Alabama and the wedding which will be on the beach at Gulf Shores.  So exciting!  DH will stay a week.  I'm staying on for about another month, my usual.  This time things will be different as GD will be a married lady.  A lot less 'girl time' I'm thinking.

Without further ado, here are the quilts (which have already been shipped).

Spring Has Sprung!!!

"Spring Has Sprung" by Cheryl Haynes of Prairie Grove Peddler


"Cat Lessons For People" by Lizzie Kate to go with my "Dog Lessons For People" (now to get them framed alike)

A Road Trip Gone Haywire!!!

Alas, it has been quite some time since I last reported in. I just haven't been able to find the words.

My previously mentioned road trip was quite a hit aka I nearly totalled Blondie. To keep it short, I picked up a rental (the rollerskate) and headed back on the road twelve hours later. Got to court just a half hour before they convened. Had to call my BFF, Pam, in Vancouver, B.C. & cancel. I just couldn't tempt the fates in the lousy weather in a rental car with no chains or traction tires. Sooooo, I stayed on with Dot and learned to make Chicken Enchiladas and Need-ums. She made me a lovely apron which I will treasure. We gabbed and sewed. I finished the binding on my latest Quilt Of Valor (sorry, I forgot to take a pic!).

When I left Dot's I headed up to Nikki's. Nik has been inviting me and I decided if she could take in a wandering soul on short notice I'd park 'er there for a bit of stitching fun. Nik's been suffering with back problems and hasn't been out much lately so I was welcomed warmly. Besides, she'd gotten this new addition to her family that I've been dying to spoil. Sashi aka Sausages (my nickname) is a 5 month-old Lhasa. What a doll! If she ever turns up missing Nik, don't look at my house!!! By this time I had finished one cross stitch & was working on another. I was lucky to attend Nik's local stitching group & meet some more wonderful stitchers.

My last stop was at Julie's to celebrate her birthday. This was my first visit to her home also. We get along so well and had loads of fun. Me dragging her to a stitching shop and her showing me her favorite antique stores. After church and what was a very short visit I headed home.

Now, since I had had to skip lunch with Vicki in Portland on my way to Washington I made a stopover on my return. She convinced me to stay overnight rather than cross the pass at night (it didn't take much convincing). There had been problems with two of the pieces I had left at the framers on my last trip to Portland. I needed to pick them up. They've now been fixed and mailed back. I should be able to pick up the framed pieces later this month at our next GTG.

I arrived home and immediately got sick. I mean FLU sick! That's hung on for about a month. Enough already!!

I'm happy to report that Blondie was not as badly injured as first thought. She's now warmly tucked back in her garage. Man did I miss her heated seats!

Oh, What A Wonderful Week-end! And A Roadtrip!

We laughed, we ate, we shopped, we stitched and laughed some more! That's what these GTGs are all about. Man, I had missed these gals! I worked on both of my on-going projects. I was amazingly restrained in the LNS. Mostly that was due to stopping by Craft Warehouse on our way into town. CW was having a 40% off framing sale. I left two pieces to be framed. Then when we arrived at Vicki's she offered to take another of my pieces in for a special 60% off framing sale on Monday. Whew! That hurt the bank! Wednesday I had to take "Blondie", my jeep, in for some work. I was expecting a very expensive tab, especially when they asked to keep her overnight. What a surprise when I found out the warrenty covered everything but the normal maintenance and the wipers, minus the $100 deductible. That totally made me feel better about all the framing expenses. Need Blondie to be in tip-top shape. I leave Thursday for the Washington peninsula. I will appear in court Friday on my former neighbor's behalf. After spending a few days with her I will be heading up to Vancouver, BC to visit my BFF, Pam. On my return trip I'm planning to spend a few days with another girlfriend in Seattle. I'm just giddy with all the fun of getting to see these gals. Soooo... don't expect an update here for a bit. ROADTRIP!!!

Oh Dear!

I should be excited! I should be packing & sorting my stitching. But no, I've just finished reading emails and blogs. I'm heading back to bed for a nap. At oh-dark-thirty tomorrow I leave for my stitching GTG in Portland. I've missed several so I haven't seen the gals since September. Where, oh where is my mojo?

No photos to share but I am working diligently every evening on two projects.

Time For God!

with artifical lighting: this shows the fabric color better

with natural lighting: I like this because it shows the floss colors better.

Looks like I should've stood on a barstool instead of a chair and waited 'til morning for better light!! Photography is not my strong suit and I don't have a great camera.

This Lizzie Kate piece was stitched last year. I've been trying to sort out my sewing/stitching room and realized I had forgotten to photograph it. Think I'll take it with me to Portland next week-end to be framed.

Next week-end is our stitchig group's GTG. It rarely happens that Craft Warehouse is having a framing sale the same time we're having our GTG. I'll probably break the bank!

Finished Stitching!

Yea, finish number two!! I finished "Dog Lessons For People" by Lizzie Kate last week. Didn't get a chance to post it then as we had to take a short trip over to Portland. This was a fun stitch and while I was waiting for a re-supply of floss I started "Cat Lessons". Am about half done with that but find myself yearning to get on with other things. Oh man, not another UFO!

First 2011 Finish

Finally I have a finish to show!
I had started LK's Dog Lessons and had to order more floss (it has finally arrived). Then I started LK's Cat Lessons and found I was out of one of those flosses (more ordering). So... I started Waxing Moon Designs' Autumn Nap. Whew! I had all the flosses needed for this and have finished it today.

Too dark right now to get a great photo so this scan will have to do.

Happy New Year

MAY YOUR TROUBLES BE LESS,
YOUR BLESSINGS BE MORE
AND NOTHING BUT HAPPINESS
COME THROUGH YOUR DOOR

I'm wishing all the best to my stitching & quilting friends for 2011.

We don't do anything special for New Years as a rule and this year especially since we have so much snow. I'm doing a lot of cleaning/laundry - a typical Saturday.

Christmas was a rather simple affair considering all the hassle and prep. The ride over the mountain pass was clear and easy. Two of my three types of cookies were a hit.

Pat (ds#2) had the grandboys for Christmas Eve. We opened gifts early as their mother wanted them by 7PM. Then we all went out for Mongolian Grill which has become a sort of Christmas Eve tradition. Dh & I got to visit with some dear friends.

Christmas morning Pat fixed a great breakfast. DS#3 & DDIL were there. Then all the Christmas dinner prep began. The guys were deep frying the turkey. I kept out of the way, my job was vegetables. DH fetched his 97yo mom to join us. We decided to head home that evening as "there's no place like home" (and our own bed). Good thing too as it started snowing and didn't quit for 4 days. We now have snow up to my waist!!

In my last post I mentioned "a day of rest". Well, it didn't go exactly as I planned - not all rest. But I did get some stitching done. I started Lizzie Kate's Dog Lessons For People. What a fun stitch! Here it is so far...

If you'll ecuse my poor photography, here are also some ornaments I stitched while I was in Alabama. They are from The Gift Of Stitching Magazine. The First Day of Christmas by Nancy Pederson of Tudor Thyme
and Christmas Star Tag by Annemiek Koning of The Needle's Content. I stitched this in two colorways.
I also have another of the Little House Needleworks ornaments; Joy To The World
Have you noticed a trend to my stitching? So far I have thirty-seven ornaments stitched and not one finished. I'm hoping to be bitten by the finishing fairy this year. That's about it for my New Year's Resolutions. OK, maybe finish a UFO/BAP or two. How about you?