End of a rainy day.....

(Information about scarf construction is below)


Today we had church and then music practice. (Gary and I are in a folk group and we play the first Sunday of each month and on special days.....will play twice on Christmas Eve, so we need a lot of practice sessions right now.) After that, we came home and I finished up making the turkey soup that I had simmering in the crockpot. That hit the spot on a rainy day.

Tomorrow is my quilt guild's Christmas auction and luncheon. I made a scarf using MaryAnne "Moonbeams in a Jar" Drury's tutorial (posted on Cotton Spice - you must scroll down a bit on the page to find the tutorial). It was a fun and easy project and I think people will bid on it tomorrow. Above is a photo of it. The idea is not to need a purse when you take a walk....put your tissue and house key in the pockets...maybe a few dollars if you are walking to get the newspaper or a morning cup of coffee. Cute idea, isn't it? I don't know why I used such bright colors...not my usual choice, but I'm sure it will appeal to gals who like BRIGHT....and it is so soft and warm....double layer of fleece...nice and cozy!

Gee...what a MESS!!!

I found this photo online in archived photos from Life Magazine. (I remember that magazine fondly...guess my age is showing! Thanks, Nancy, for the link.) This is Macy's after some holiday shopping in 1948. (Click photo to enlarge.) I'm guessing some of the stores are looking like that today, too. On a serious note, there were at least two deaths related to crowds and people fighting over items on Black Friday. I'm thinking no item or low price is worth that, and I feel badly for the families involved in those losses.

Fun Holiday LIghts

Last holiday season, hubby saw (with me) a show on HGTV about some very involved and fun holiday light displays that folks created in their yards. We live in a place with a very small yard, but he got the idea to do one of these displays. You have to understand he is a computer whiz and, being retired, he has a lot of time to play with his computers. SO...he has spent the better part of a year coming up with a light display that allows folks to tune their car radio to a certain frequency as they drive in front of our home...and they can listen to music while they watch the lights dance.

Last night was the "opening night" and some of our friends came by when the display was lit. The lights look very nice and it's fun to watch various parts of the yard twinkle along to the music. He already has plans for some additions and changes for next year. I wish there was a way to get a photo of it, but it just doesn't work at night....and without hearing the music playing along with the lights, it would do it no justice anyway. If any of you readers are in southern Delaware and want to see it, email me through this blog and I'll give you directions. We are collecting non-perishable food from any who wish to donate as they watch the lights and will donate it to the local food bank. They, like many others, are down on donations this year but the need for their services has increased during these hard economic times.

I don't do Black Friday but I am running to a store around 9 that should not be crowded (kind of off the beaten path) for a few things they advertised. I did Black Friday ONCE and didn't get the item I wanted (it was when Furby was popular...anyone remember Furby?)....and I vowed never to do it again!

I hope all of you enjoyed your day yesterday with a nice dinner and some time with family and friends.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.....

One time, I think in a school situation, we were asked what is the one thing for which you are most thankful. Now...it's hard to narrow it down to just one thing (or at least it was for me then.) At this point of my life, though, I'd have to say that one thing would be good health for me and my family, because I believe if we have good health, we can deal with anything else that comes along. May you and your family and friends be blessed with a day of good food and fellowship AND good health, and may this official start to the holiday season be filled with peace for all of us.

What is YOUR favorite color?

I like a lot of colors and, with quilting, I get to use a lot of colors. For my wardrobe, though, I seem to have a lot of blue, and my fabric stash has a LOT of green. I had fun reading a webpage that claims to define personality by which colors you like. See what that page says about YOUR color preferences! (Not sure what it says about you if you like different colors on different days....does that mean you have multiple personalities??? LOL)

Quilting with children......

My grandkids live a distance and aren't here often. This summer, Emily was here for a week and wanted to sew. We decided to do hot pads for her mom and step-mom. Above you can see her going through fabric strips to find just the right ones. She had very definite ideas of what she wanted based on the interests of her mom and step-mom.

Emily wanted fabrics to reflect a leaf and tree theme for her mom and a beach theme for her step-mom.

She enjoyed using the machine and even got pretty good at controlling the speed with the foot pedal after a few practice runs.

This is the hot pad (before batting and backing) for her mom....colors do reflect leaves and trees.

This is the beachy one for her step-mom.....even includes "sand". Next summer, I hope to introduce her younger sister (Jessi, age 4) to the sewing machine! If you enjoy seeing quilting projects done by children, check out this site.

Turkey Day is nearly here...

Thursday is the big day for most of us. We will celebrate on a weekend early in December as our family can't get together until then. (I do a small dinner for hubby and myself on Thursday, though, as what would Thanksgiving be without turkey and pie leftovers??) I found a cute website with lots of Thanksgiving ideas.....decorations, crafts kids can make, coloring pages for the kids, recipes, etc. I think I may try to use some ideas from there for our celebration when the kids come here. If anyone wants to check it out, click HERE.

Now for a painting update from yesterday....WE FINISHED. I need to run to the store early this a.m. to try to get new curtains as the old ones just don't work any longer. Then it's into the sewing room to clean-up so I can get some serious sewing done today and most of tomorrow. I have a Santa panel and promised my daughter I'd use it to make a wall-hanging for her. (Photos will follow when it's done.) Also, I have a Christmas gift I didn't start yet for her....can't say what it is because she knows my blog address and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Better get moving....can't waste a minute between now and Christmas! LOL

Christmas is coming too fast....

I'm thinking I may not be the only one who thinks Christmas is approaching a bit too quickly? How does that happen every year? I have Christmas gifts that aren't even started yet....a sewing room that is topsy-turvy with things I brought home from the retreat and didn't yet put away as well as things left out before the retreat....and we are in the midst of some painting inside the house. Today is a busy day with two church music events (handbell choir that I'm in and which is playing for the first time this a.m. and then a folk group practice at noon).

The painting needs to be done after that.......then I need to figure out where to begin to tackle the sewing room clean-up so I can get some serious sewing done SOON. I think one of my New Year's resolutions will be to do my Christmas 2009 sewing in JANUARY!!! Maybe then Christmas in 2009 will not come around too quickly for me?

The quilt on the rocking chair....

NOTE: Photo has been deleted in order to design holiday header. If you'd like to see this photo, email me and I'll get it to you. I'd like to give credit for the quilt on the rocking chair (by my blog title). It is a very pretty quilt but it was not made by me. It was made by one of my friends who was on the retreat last week....Lynne....and she allowed me to use it for the photo. Isn't it lovely? Thanks, Lynne!

Our North Carolina retreat......

The week of November 9, I went with 10 fellow quilters (all Pat Sloan groupies) to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We rented a wonderful, oceanfront house and had a terrific time. Here are 2 photos...not quite formatted correctly as I'm just learning. The top one is a photo of some of our completed pieces hanging on the railing on the top floor of the house. The next one is a photo of us on the last day with just some of the quilts that were done (only 10 of us in the photo....one of the gals was using the camera). You should be able to click on each photo to enlarge it. Group photo...left to right....Carol, Janet, Diane (hidden by her quilt), Denny, Marilyn, Lynne, Maryann, Sandra, me, Linda. Gail was the photographer for this picture.

Kathy is having a contest.....

Check out Kathy's blog. She is having a "pay-it-forward" contest.

Well....here goes........

This is my attempt to start a blog. This retired grandmother with little computer ability has been assured by friends that it is not difficult to do this. We shall see. Hopefully, I will get better at this as time goes on!