NEW CHALLENGES AND A DISASTER STRIKES MATT MY NEPHEW

Well it is almost Christmas day and there is so much to tell. First the good news ~ I have been accepted in the CRAZY QUILT JOURNAL PROJECT  and TAKE A STITCH TUESDAY challenges for 2012.  I am excited.  I am going to do this. I love to do silk ribbon work, beading, and crazy quilting.  It is so relaxing to me.  I have already layed up 3 squares to start with for the CQJP and I am going to make a cloth journal the stitches.

Now on a totally different note.  Last Wednesday my nephew that lives in Alaska (age 30) and works as a medic on the North Slope was walking to his truck, hit a patch of ice, slipped and landed on his backside.  Unfortunately he fractured several vertebrea, was airlifted to Anchorage for treatment, has had 2 surgeries to remove fragments and may have to have more in the future. He has 2 very young daughters, foster children that the courts after 3 years are finally going to let Matt and Melanie adopt them this Wednesday Dec 21.  Matt will probably never work as a medic again (won't be able to lift patients and stetchers) and now while he lays in bed will get to figure out a new career. When they got the girls 3 years ago they were 6 months and 15 months old.  We have prayed that they would get to keep the precious girls (sisters) safe from their original home. The girls Krina and Gwen don't know anyone else as parents and now when everything was finally coming together disaster struck.  Please pray for them and Matt and Melanie and my brother Owen and sister inlaw Mary Elizabeth.  They need the hand of God to get them thru this. 
I am wishing each of you Warmest Wishes in this Holy Christmas Season.  May God bless each one of you.
Mary

BEEN BUSY POSTING CHRISTMAS PRETTIES ON ETSY

I have been busy posting some pretties on ETSY.  I bought a bolt of fabric with beautiful Christmas cat pic on it in pillow squares.  I was working at Hancocks Fabric at the time, and was stocking the Christmas fabric we had just received. And here was this bolt of cats with such beautiful snowy Christmas card scenes. I bought the entire bolt. That fabric was never put on the shelf.  I have made a couple of lap quilts 45 x 60 inches, and a few pillows. Still have at least 7-8 yards left.  Just don't sew as much as I used to. Or don't have time. Don't know, maybe just lazy. After nearly 40 years of working a full time job, usually putting in a huge garden and sewing day and night, weekends and holidays getting ready to another craft show, I just don't have the get up and go to 'git'er dun' like the guy on tv keeps saying. I have all these ideas floating around in my head, drifting in and out. Just don't get that much accomplished.  These days I think I had rather read a book. The down side is I keep feeling like I am leaving things undone. And time is slipping away.  Three weeks and Christmas will be over for another year.  Time just flies and never slows down for anything. Even to let you draw a breath.
Anyway here are my latest entries for you to take a look at.

The top cat always tugged at my heart, with him (or her) outside in the cold and looking in.  The second one reminded me of some of our cats in the past, curled up dreaming of how much trouble they could get into, playing in the Christmas tree. That's another story for closer to Christmas.
I always loved the old world Santa's.  Mother fell in love with the Angels.  I bought a 100 years of the Angels.  We made quilt, purses, wall hanging, and pillows with that fabric patter. I think I still have about 25 or 30 yards left. So so pretty.
Well that is all for today.
May your days be filled with Spirit of Christmas and celebrating the One who's birthday it is.
Mary

MORE LAST MINUTE

Well the vest is coming along. Today I laid out the red roses (her favorite color and flower) and started the background ribbon and embroidery.

I tried the roses with no extra colors and with yellow and blue flowers. I think I will stick with the red roses and other red flowers and will add some blue beading with the green and red beading. 

















I have done the background embroidery and used straight pins to hold the bulky flowers in place. I will not sew them on until I sew the vest together. I am pretty good at hiding the stitches and not going thru to the lining, so I don't worry about that.

I am holding down the ribbon with green seed beads and using a varigated green embroidery floss and my favorite stitch - the feather stitch to spread out beaded flowers and buds.

I have a collection of embroidery hoops. Some of them my mother and grand mother used 80 years ago.  They are the best, made with strong wood and brass screws.  They may never fall apart, atleast in my life time.  They  weigh more than the newer cheap hoops that fall apart and the rivets fall out that hold the screws.  They (the newer ones) are just chinese garbage. My older ones were made in England and the US back when people made things to last and were proud of their products.  I guess I need to get off of my soap box and get back to work.


Tonight we went to church. We had our Christmas service and communion. It was done in candle light and was so pretty.  It was just a simple service of carols and special music. John Tidwell played his guitar and sang some lovely carols. He has such a beautiful baritone voice and plays classical guitar style. He is a local disc jockey at 97.7 The Peach in Chilton county (our neighbor county).  Chilton is renowned for their peach crops and rival Georgia in production.  He did the music at our wedding last year and brought tears to my eyes when he sang "Annie's Song" by John Denver.  That is such a beautiful love song. Anyway, he always provides beautiful music at our little church. 
After the sevice we gathered in the kitchen and OD'ed on sweets and lots of out of this world food.  We have one lady that has a catering business and she always brings such scrumptious food.  All of the ladies are really good cooks and of course being Baptist we all try to out do each other in a friendly rivalry. As Don says: 'It makes for some fantastic food.' He never wants to miss a meal at church.  I guess this is all for today. I am going to get up in the morning and finish the vest.
PS they are using that 4 letter 'cuss word' that starts with s and ends with a 'w' for Christmas day.  That would really be something.  I have only seen one White Christmas in my life and I had to fly 5000 miles to Alaska for it. 
Merry Christmas to all and don't forget the real reason for the season. Our Lord and Savior's Birth.
Mary

THE LAST MINUTE

I am going to try something I have never done on a blog.  I am going to show you how I work. Some background first.
 My Aunt Mary is 89 years old.  She has a very comfortable income and can buy anything she really wants.  She is partially blind (limited vision), but that is her only health problem.  She used to be easy to buy Christmas presents for because she would try any craft and usually master it. She loved to read, collected cookbooks, loved to cook, entertain and travel. Now because of her limited vision she mostly watches (or listens to Fox News tv) and talks on the phone.  Her only trips are to get her hair done once a week, and her nails once every two weeks (nail polish really does stay on her nails that good, I can't keep it on 24 hours without chipping). All of this has really made it hard to figure out what she would like and use when getting her Christmas presents.  We have already gone thru getting the talking clocks, oversize tv remotes, talking watches, talking phones that tells you who or what number is calling, cuddle blankets, lap quilts, bed quilts,  everything Alabama football and Braves baseball, a cd player with favorite books on cd etc. She loves vests. I have made her vests for every holiday, Alabama vests, Braves vest (paid a fortune bidding on 1 yard of braves material on EBAY). I have beaded some of her vests. She really likes that. I have never made her a ribbon embroidery decorated vests.  I don't know how I missed that one. Every year I have racked my brain for something for birthdays and Christmas, I just missed that one completely.  This is the year.  Of course I didn't think of it til the last minute and for some reason I have been so lethargic (that is the only word I can think of that covers the way I have felt about Christmas) this year. So this is going to be a last minute thing.  I spent almost a week just plotting this vest out in my head and FINDING the fabric I wanted to use.  It seems there is ALWAYS the big hunt for the fabric especially since I have hundreds of yards of fabric.  So just for the next couple of days (I have to have this ready by Christmas Eve), I am photographing everything I do to make this vest. Wish me luck because I KNOW there will be things I want to use that I will not be able to find.

So here are the first pictures.  I finally found my pattern that fits her. And finally found the black brocaded rayon fabric I wanted and the black batiste to back it for the embroidery.  I have it basted together so it won't move around too much.  I used a beading needle to baste with (really slides thru the fabrics easy) and pink thread so I can find it to rip it out.
My next entry will show the layout of the design.  Til then say a prayer for me that I can keep it together and stay on the project.
Mary

GETTING IN THE GROOVE AND CREATING AGAIN

Well, I am still at it.  Hiding out in my sewing room and doing my thing.  Don just shakes his head and picks out another book to read while I'm sewing.  I am getting my speed back, finishing each one a little quicker than the one before. It is just fun.
 I got a convo on Etsy today, a nice lady named Judy has selected my "Sisters" sachet for a Treasury she is creating. I am honored and just blown away.  Her Etsy site is http://twinklestarcrafts.etsy.com/ . She has some really pretty vintage items and crafts. I found several I wish I could purchase right now. 
I am really getting in the Christmas spirit.  All I want to do right now make Christmas pretties.  I have some on the sewing table to post Friday or Saturday. I have one of my Christmas sachets posted tonight. More to come.  Had to get a new printer ink cartridge to finish up.  Work,work, can't slow down. 

Thanks to Rebecca at A Gathering Place for her comments.  When I first started on Ebay I watched everything that she and Lynn at Teacupstitches did.  I thought they made the most beautiful Cottage Chic items I have ever seen. With Rebecca taking the time to even read my blog and then to comment, I feel like I have been visited by royalty.  Thank you so much for stopping by. 

Hope every one is enjoying this beautiful weather.

Thank you Lord for this weather.

Til next time.

Mary



END OF THE MONTH AND OTHER DEPRESSING THINGS

I can not believe it is already the end of September. It is also less than 3 months til Christmas. Not that I don't like Christmas. I love it. I love to decorate, cook goodies, wrap presents, even shop for presents. I love Christmas music, I have a huge collection. I just can't believe how fast time is spinning. I will be 63 on Oct. 5. I think that is what is so depressing. I am glad I have made it this far. It has been a long and winding road for me. Lots of crazy things have happened in my life. Some I talk about and some I don't. Both of my parents made it to 85 and 87 (Mother was just 2 weeks from 87 when she died so I give her the 2 weeks). All four of my grandparents made it to the mid 80's and one grandmother even made it to 95. So based on those statistics I might make it 20 more years. I don't smoke or drink alcohol. Don't race cars or fly airplanes. Don't ride motorcycles. Don't engage in other 'risky' behaviors. Who knows. I might make it.
Right now the weather down here in central Alabama is perfect. There is a steady breeze blowing, the temp is in mid to upper 80's, cool at night and the squirrels are working like mad on the Hickory nuts in the yard. Usually you see them burying the nuts, but this year they are chewing them up. That is strange. Six years I have been living with 20 something Hickory trees and the squirrels and I have not seen them doing it this way. Always they are burying them. It seems all of nature has been acting a little strange this summer. The deer that got in the garden spent more time eating the tops of the pepper plants that anything else. I have never seen deer eat bell peppers.
Well I guess that is all from here today. Tomorrow is the first so I will spend my day grocery shopping. My feet already hurt thinking about it.
God bless all of you.
Mary

LABOR DAY AND BLOG HOPPING

Today is Labor Day. Today marks the beginning of the Christmas season to me. From now on I will be thinking about Christmas, planning Christmas, making lists about Christmas and working on Christmas.
I have already started making lists of items I will post to sell for Christmas. When we (my Mother and I) were doing craft shows I would have boxes of (and I mean big tote boxes) Christmas angels, teddy bears, mini wreathes, all kinds of ornaments all ready for the show trail. We would start with Labor Day shows putting out Christmas themed aprons, hot pads, bonnets, tote bags and purses. And always the hundreds of Christmas angels and Santa Clauses we made and dressed.
Those were the days. My Mother made the clothes by the stacks and I made the bodies. I am going to be putting out some of the little angels we made. I found a box of the compontents and as soon as I finish altering Aunt Mary's vests and finish the Mind Wide Open challenge piece this week, I am going to start putting them together and posting them on ETSY.
I have spent the afternoon blog hopping and found some new (to me) cottage chic blogs. One is http://www.creatingvintagecharm.blogspot.com/ .
They are launching a new magazine on Sept.25. I think it is worth the time to hop over and check them out. I can't wait to check out the first issue. I put a button on the side of my blog for you to click on, so hop on over.
It is nearly time for supper and Don is hungry (I am too), so catch you tomorrow. I will have some pictures.
God Bless You.
Mary