YAY!!! Socks.........but not made by me!!!

You might recall a few weeks back I blogged about a nice book with crocheted sock patterns....a nice book but I wasn't having luck with it.  SO...I put out an S.O.S. on my blog and my blogging buddy, Margi (click HERE for her blog...she is one very talented gal), responded and kindly offered to take my yarn and my book and make me a pair of socks.  She is a fabulous knitter but she had been wanting to try crocheted socks, so this gave her that chance...and, in true Margi fashion, she was rose to the challenge!!!  She has emailed me a photo of the finished socks and they are TERRIFIC!!!  See???  She will be mailing them to me soon.  Thanks, Margi...you are a real pal to do this.  The sock yarn would have gathered dust here as would the book if you'd not come to my rescue!!!  Gotta love blogging and the friends you make along the way!!!

A time to count our blessings......

I'm sure we all have had some sad days since last Thanksgiving....and maybe went through some tough times, but......this is a time to focus on our blessings.  We are told that our struggles make us stronger.  Sometimes I find it hard to believe that, but I have found that if we really sit down and think about it, we can usually find a silver lining in all our "clouds".  May you and your family have a wonderful thank-filled Thanksgiving holiday and may we all keep in mind those who are less fortunate and those who are not able to be with family for the holiday.

A chance to spread some hope and happiness.....

Here is a chance to spread some hope and happiness to a quilter who is facing treatment for breast cancer.  Go HERE to find out the details.  I'm figuring on sending some charm squares and I hope some of you can send some fabric along, too.  I'm sure the gal for whom this is being collected will be happy to know many quilters all over the place are thinking about her and praying for good results from her treatment. Can you imagine if every person who reads this put just one fat quarter in an envelope and sent it?  What a GREAT showing of support that would be for this quilter!!!  Please consider doing that!

A twisted tale...or a tale of two twisters!!!

About a year ago, Jackie was kind enough to mail me her Lil Twister tool to try.  Since I was going to vacation in her area during the winter, I was able to return it to her in person and we got to meet, which was nice.  This first photo shows the table runner I made using her Lil Twister.

While the use of Jackie's Lil Twister tool went well, I wasn't too happy with the results as my color placement was "off" and the contrasts just weren't there....some of the pinwheels got "lost" in the shuffle. I tried to use all random 5" squares and I should have used ones that were better coordinated.   About a week ago, I saw a demo of the tool at the LQS and decided to buy one of my own and make something with which I'd be more satisfied.  I decided to use a charm pack (so the coordination would be there) and chose colors my daughter likes (black, brown, tan, and lighter neutrals).  This second picture is the result and I'm much  happier with how I did on this runner.  I hope my daughter likes it (once it's quilted and has binding on it, of course).

Some sad news.....

Some of you might have been followers of Kaye at her blog (click HERE for her blog).  She has not blogged in nearly a year because she has been coping with a very ill husband who had brain tumor surgery and then had further health problems develop after that.  I am sorry to say he suffered for a long time but his suffering is now over as he passed away today.  My heart goes out to Kaye and her family at this difficult time.  If you are a blogger who "knew" her through her blog and wish to contact her to express your sympathy, please get in touch with me and I'll help you do that.

Win some free batting!!!

Of course, I hope to be the winner, but......to enter the giveaway, I had to promise to tell all of you. So....go HERE to read about it.

The rental house....

I realized I didn't take many photos of the retreat house we rented two weeks ago...guess that's because the owners have many good shots of it online at the site from which we rented it.  This house is large.......5 regular bedrooms and 2 loft bedrooms....a front porch with rockers and an upstairs balcony......3 full bathrooms and a very nice yard with lots of seating and a fire pit that we didn't use but had intended to (just never got around to it).  THIS is the site that tells about the house for any who might be interested in it....would make a great spot for a large family vacation or for another group to do a quilters' retreat. (If you have a group that decides to rent it, tell them Pat and the gals from Delaware sent you!!! We don't get anything for a referral but at least they'd know we liked the house enough to recommend it.)  Here are a few photos I did take while there......(click to enlarge)....captions beneath each photo.

 

This was the view when pulling out of the driveway.  Many of the immediate neighbors are Amish families and an Amish lady next door had a very lovely gift shop with beautiful items she (and others) made.

 

The front porch of the house.....which we didn't use.  We were either busy sewing or shopping!!! I guess we need to stay there longer to make use of the firepit and the front porch.

 

Some Amish children walking home from school.  One of the Amish one-room schoolhouses was a few doors away from us.  I always love watching the schoolkids go by.......all carrying those lunch coolers now.  This road has a good bit of traffic, so the "lead" child wears a safety vest.  I also notice that she had the little guy carry HER lunch cooler, too!  Other years, I've not noticed any lead child doing that and I found it kind of funny to see.