Our First Snow

It started snowing in the early afternoon and now everything is covered and it looks like a picture on a Christmas card. Everything is so white and clean and pretty. Nothing is sticking to the sidewalks and roads, so there is no need to shovel, but that will be coming next. When I came out of work about 4:00 this afternoon I was glad I had dug my snow brush out of the trunk of my car, because I needed it to clear the snow from my windows.

I am in the process of making some aprons for a friends 3 year old grand daughter for Christmas. Anthony has requested a blue striped bag to carry his "Thomas" cars in. He had been using his Mom's purse. Hopefully, we have him convinced that isn't cool and he needs a bag of his own.

I worked all day today and now I'm ready for a quick nap - before I run over to Quizzno's for soup and sandwiches for diner.

Take care

My Little Change Purse

Here is my little Change Purse that I like to make out of left over fabric. It is the perfect size to carry in your pocket. Just right for a little cash or a charge card in the zippered section. There is a pocket on the outside for your business cards. I made my first little change purse when I got tired to carrying my cards in a rubber band or a baggie. That was a tacky thing to do. Not very professional.
I like to add a medal slip ring to the zipper pull tab for an extra key.

I started out the day by going to church, then back home for a combination breakfast/lunch. I had left-overs from Thanksgiving - yummy - . Then I was off to work at JoAnn Fabrics again. We were busy today, but not as busy as the past two days. I'm not schedualed (? sp) to work again til Sat.. Tony and I had pizza for super tonight. Now I'm ready to sew for awhile.

That's about all the excitement for today. Take care

The Sat after Black Friday 2009

I worked at JoAnn Fabrics again today and we were just as busy today as we were yesterday. I spent most of the day putting fabric (especially fleece) back on the shelves. The Blizzard fleece at $2.99 a yard was "flying out the door".

The weather man was right when he said it was going to be windy last night. That wind howled all night long. It was cold and windy today, but NO snow. Thank you, God. I am NOT looking forward to snow.

I am posting a picture of the last Expandable Tote/Duffle Bag that I finished and one of the three small change purses that I made out of the left over fabric. These change purses are really nice and just the right size. They measure about 5"x3.5". There is a zippered section and an outside pocket to hold your business cards. I add a ring to the zipper pull tag for a couple of keys.

I need to get in bed. Tomorrow is church and then back to work.

Take care...

Thanksgiving and Black Fri. 2009

Thanksgiving was quiet around our house. Just Tony and me. I fixed a small meal and baked a cherry pie for Tony. It (the pie) turned out all right. It certainly didn't look like "the picture", but Tony ate it and said it was good. I am not a pie baker, but I deserve points for trying. Part of the afternoon and evening I spent finishing a bag and watching "The God Father" movies on TV. TR called in the evening to let us know that AJ was sick all day.

I spent Fri. morning and early afternoon doing the laundry and ironing. That is all done and taken care of. I worked at JoAnn Fabrics this evening. We really weren't to busy with customers. Most of our time was spent putting stock away and taking care of other things. All of the mad dash of Black Fri was over by 5 PM when I got to work. Tomorrow will be another extra busy day. More door busters and sales.

According to the weather man we have some bad weather coming tomorrow. Tonight we are having some bad winds and tomorrow it will be cold and rainy with the possibility of snow (booo, hissss, I don't like that).

Tonight I tried to down load some pictures of my new bags and change purses, but the battery in my camera died. I have only one new bag to show you tonight. Tomorrrow I will post the other ones for you.

Good night. I'm going to get in bed and read for awhile...

Some Completed Projects

Here are two of my finished projects. The first one is another Expandable Tote/Duffle Bag. These are wonderful bags and can be used for anything that you would use a bag for. They are machine washable and dryable (is that correct)?? The second is a light weight flannel rag quilt made with just two layers of flannel. It's soft and cuddly and I love it. I don't know if this will be a Christmas gift or if I will sell it. Time will tell.

I spent time this morning re-arranging the wiring on my computer. I don't like the way wires are laying all over the floor. I gathered some of them up and wrapped rubber bands around them and tucked some behind various gadgets. Everything seems to be working alright, so hopefully I haven't loosened and connections.

This has been a busy weekend. Fri. I did my third craft show - that one was a real bummer. I made enough to pay for my table and a hot dog and soda for lunch. NOT good. Then I worked at JoAnn's from 5-9:45 that evening. I was exhausted by the time I got home. Back to work Sat. morning from 9 AM to 2:30. VERY busy day. Practice for Black Fri.. After work I went to pick up DH's computer. (I had taken it to my "computer friend" to be updated and all that good stuff. He hadn't touched it since Jan. when he had his heart attack) Anyway--- I brought it home and - after much discussion, we got it hooked up and working. I finally had a chance to come upstairs and relax. I worked on putting another expandable tote together. That one is almost finished. Later, when things calmed down, I went back down stairs for milk and cookies while DH had his coffee. I finished machine quilting another expandable tote bag.

It's time to get ready for church, then back to JoAnn's for another crazy busy day. Take care

My Second Craft Show

I did my second craft show for this season yesterday. I didn't do as good as I did with the first one, but that is alright. I am happy. I did alright and I had a nice day. I sold three (or was it four??) of my big expandable tote bags. Now I have to get busy and make some more for my next (and last) show for this year. I have a stack of them all cut out and ready to be machine quilted. Hopefully I will start on them tonight while I watch TV with Tony. I also sold some of my scrap booking stuff and a box of (maybe 12) unsewn (is that a word) cloth books. Both of those sales made me REALLY happy :)

Last Wed. I finally got outside and did some raking. I filled five big bags with leaves. There are lots more to be raked up. I'm hoping I get more of them cleaned up before it snows.

That's about it for now. I'm going to go sew...

A Good Day

Today I did a craft show at one of the local nursing homes and had a great time. Sales were good and I had the chance to chat with some old friends. I sold one expandable tote/duffle bag, several clutch purses and change purses, some basic totes, and some scarfs. Also two fleece throws and one small quilt and other various things. I have two more shows coming up in Nov.. I wish I had the time to do more of these shows. I really enjoy them.

Hi Everyone

I can't believe that 20 days have gone by since I last wrote something. Halloween is here again and then November. Time flies by much to fast (Where have I heard that said before??). I have been doing a lot of things, but really haven't accomplished much of anything. The pictures I posted are of the Expandable Tote/Duffle Bag that I finished last night.
I have been working on two quilts that I'm making for the Senior Center. The first one needs to be basted and machine quilted. I'm still cutting out blocks for the second one. Both of them are done in the "Double Four Patch" pattern. That pattern is easy and quick and I like it.
I'm getting in lots of hours at Jo-Ann's. Last week I worked six days. That was to much. I was exhausted. This week I took two days off so I could try to get caught up on somethings.
Tomorrow is my first craft show for the season. I usually do three shows at this time of year. I'm hoping I have everything loaded in my car and will be ready to go in the morning. There are other things I would like to take, but I ran out of room. I needed to save a small space for me.
It's after 10PM and I wanted to get to bed early tonight. I'd better get movin' in that direction.
Good night...

Two New Bags

I finished two more Expandable Tote/Duffle Bags this past week.
Both of them have six 12" deep pockets around the outside. The floral bag has an additional strip of four 6" deep pockets across one side for your smaller items like car keys and a cell phone. The bags are about 12" high when folded down and about 18" high when expanded. There is a draw string closure at the top. I have changed the design of the bag. Before there was another set of handles on the top and no draw string closure. The bag was 6" taller. We will see how people like the changes??? Time will tell.
These bags can be used for anything you would use a bag for including travel bag (great for bus trips), book bag (for students and teachers), shopping bag, etc. Use your imagination.

Yesterday I got an order for three of my quilts. I put them in the mail this morning before I went to work. It was very busy at Jo-Ann's today. My four hour shift flew by. It was time to go home before I realized it. I'm working again tomorrow. It will probably be another busy day. We have some great sales on this weekend. I actually managed to get out the door without making a purchase. I think I deserve a medal.

I thought I might go sew for awhile, but I'm going to get in bed with my book and read for awhile. I'm finishing "Lancaster Brides" by Wanda E. Brunstetter. Four very nice love stories about the Amish people in Pa..

Take care and Good Night...

My Birthday

Yesterday (Oct 9th) I celebrated my 75th birthday. I'm not sure what "75" feels like, but I sure don't feel 75. We had AJ all day as we usually do on Fri. We read books and did puzzles and talked about the differences in different cows. His "other Grampa" teaches him about cows and that sort of stuff. In the morning I made myself a pot of rice pudding and had some for breakfast. For lunch I had warm rice pudding with vanilla ice cream on top. That was sooo good. If you have never tried it, you really should. Our son, TR took us out to diner. I had pancakes and eggs. Another favorite of mine. Later we had cake and took some pictures that I will post here. The first one is of me and AJ. and Ducky. The second one is of me and my husband, Tony and AJ and Ducky. The last one is of the "three Anthonys" (my husband,son, and grandson) and Ducky.
I have had a busy day, So I'm going to get my book and get in bed. Good night...

My Saturday

Here it is Sat evening again and I'm almost ready to get in bed. Fall is really finally here. The weather was a lot cooler all day today. I worked at Jo-Ann's from 10 til 2 this afternoon.

I have had a nasty head cold for about a week now and I'm not shaking it. I've had about enough of this nonsence.

I have a couple of orders for Shopping Cart Handle Covers, so I made some this evening. I imagine they will be good sellers. They go together fast and are really easy to make. I posted them on My Etsy and Craigs List this evening.

I'M BACK and it's Sunday morning.

I made a stack of shopping cart handle covers this morning. I'm planning on putting some of them in the mail in the morning.
My cold is a lot better.

I have been working on two quilts. The first one is a red and black and gray "Big Bricks" top. This one is coming along nice. I think I'm going to like it. The second one is done in two shades of green and gold and brown. The pattern is "Split Nine Patch". I like the pattern on this one, but I'm not thrilled with the colors. It needs something to perk it up. Maybe something "lively" for the narrow inner border??? I have to think about that. I will post photos after I get a little more done. I need to get more quilts made. I sold four this past week.

It's almost 10AM and I need to get some breakfast and a shower and get ready for church. After that I'm working this afternoon.

Have a nice day...

What I've been doing???

You can be sure it hasn't been very exciting.

I've been getting a lot of hours in at Jo-Ann Fabrics lately. I worked five days this week and that is unusual for me. We have been fairly busy.

In the evenings I have been making four patches. I'm not sure why, but I've made a lot of them. Maybe someday they will end up in a "Double Four Patch" quilt top.

Earlier this week I shipped a brown "Big Bricks" quilt off to a baby boy in Alaska. His grama got it for him. It should arrive by Mon. or Tues.. I'm anxious to hear how much they like it.

The weather is turning cold around here. We are expecting a frost tonight.

While I was at work today, TR took his Dad out and got him a new phone with great big numbers on it so he can see everything. After much "discussion", Dad and I got it all hooked up and working.

I just finished a cup of Pistashio Nut ice cream. Now, I'm going to see if I can find anything interesting on TV. If I can - I am going to sew for awhile. If not - I'm going to bed and read for awhile.

Tomorrow is church in the morning, then work in the afternoon.

Take care...

It's almost FALL Again

Where does time go?? It's Sept again. Schools are open again and fall is almost here AND I have another birthday in a few weeks. The weather is turning cooler. I need a light weight jacket when I go outside. I am signed up for my first craft show of the season. I always look forward to them. I am getting in more hours at Jo Ann Fabrics. This week I worked five days.

AJ's rainbow quilt is ready to be put together. I need to make the backing and cut the batting. I intend to take it down to the Senior Center to get it basted. Maybe this next Wed.??

I have been staying busy making Expandable Tote Bags. I have several cut out. So far I have completed three. The first one was sold to the first person I showed it to. I didn't even get a picture of that one. The other two are in the trunk of my car. Bag #4 is all machine quilted and needs to be put together. I may work on that this evening. Bag #5 is ready to be machine quilted. You can see all of the bags at craftygramabags.etsy.com

That's about all of the excitement around here for right now. I think we are going to finish our chicken sandwiches from Quizon's for diner this evening.

Take care...

Progress on the Rainbow Quilt

This evening I finally put the last border on the Rainbow Quilt. It is taking me forever to finish that one. It ended up 85" long by 58" wide. That will make a nice big twin bed size quilt (if I ever finish it). Next I have to go shopping for a backing for it. I will take it to work with me on Sat. and hopefully, I will have the time to look for the backing. I'm thinking It will take five yards of fabric.

Today I washed four loads of clothes and got them all put away. I keep telling myself I'm going to get the ironing caught up, but so far no such luck.

Tomorrow morning I hope to go to the Senior Center for quilting. I went last week and no one was there, so I spent a couple of hour working on my nine patches. I got a lot done.

I am going to get my book and get in bed shortly. I'm finishing up the Dav Ramsey book. I'm finding it interesting, but I'm anxious to finish it so I can get back to my other book, Lancaster Brides by Reece.


good night...

Update on the Rainbow Quilt

I finally decided on a lay out for the rainbow quilt and got it all put together.I took the "brown" centers out and replaced them with red with white polka dots (as Anthony requested). The first border is the red with white polka dots. I next two borders are going to be the rainbow colors. I have them cut and ready to add. I will probably do that tomorrow after I get home from work.

We had Anthony here with us today. He spent a lot of time in my sewing room playing with my buttons. He just discovered my button box. I spent that time cutting out patches for TR's raggy work pants. He had two pairs of jeans and a pair of shorts that were in desperate need of patches. I finished them this evening and he will pick them up tomorrow when he comes to spend time with his Dad.

Today I sold some more of my treasures. One lady took a scrapbooking bag and another one took some of my Cricut cartridges.

The weather turned cold and rainy today. It was cold enough for a light weight jacket. I've had about enough of the hot muggy weather, but I'm not ready for the cold stuff to move in.

I am going to try to get to bed a little early tonight. Tomorrow I have to be to work by 9AM and I want to stop by TR's house before work so he can top off my brake fluid for me. My brake light keeps coming on for a few seconds, then it goes off. Something like that always makes me nervous.

Good night...

What I'm Working On

Here is the first picture of the new Rainbow Quilt that I am making for Anthony. He needs a new quilt for his "big boy bed". I finally finished all 80 blocks tonight. I played around a little with layouts. I'm not sure if I like this one or not. I will play some more tomorrow.

This afternoon I finished a mystery quilt that I started years ago. It's alright. It's finished and that is all that matters. I put it on my etsy and hopefully some one will fall in love with it and purchase it. The pictures I took of it aren't the greatest. I will try again tomorrow and take more pictures out side. If I get a good one I will post it here tomorrow.

This morning I put my Bernina Activa 210 sewing machine on Craigs list to sell. I'm not 100% certain I really want to sell it, but - do I really need two Bernina sewing machines???

I did a google search for "Old Fashion Rice Pudding" today and found a wonderful receipe. I have acquired a huge bag of long grain rice and now I need to find ways to use it up. You can be sure we are going to be eating a lot of rice pudding around here - and maybe some Spanish Rice. That sound good. I haven't had that in a long time.

I am reading "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. Very interesting and informative book. I finally got a copy from the library. It has been a very long time since I had my last library card. I'm finding there is a lot of good stuff at the library.

I'm about ready to go down stairs and spend some time with Tony and have my glass of milk and cookies. I am working on a puzzle that I will probably finish tonight.

Good night, everyone. Talk to you again tomorrow...

My De-Bugged Serger

Would you believe it?? I had bugs on my serger. About two weeks ago I noticed these tiny little black crawly things on the top of my serger. The first night I took a damp cloth and wiped them off. The next morning they were back. After that I tried about every liquid cleanser I had in the house. Nothing worked. I talked to people about them and asked for ideas on getting rid of them and where they could have come from. I got suggestions, but nothing worked. I finally realized I had to take the machine to the LQS to be cleaned. I was SOOO embarrassed. Well - after Jim took it all apart and soaked all the covers and blew everything out and re-oiled everything and put it back together - I picked my serger up this evening and I do believe everything is working fine. It's all clean and shinny and bug free.

I did figure out where the bugs came from. My serger sits on a table in front of the window with the air conditioner. When the air conditioner is running the air blows directly on the serger. NOW - there are birds nesting on the ledge outside window beside the air conditioner. Birds have bugs. Mystery solved. Now, I need to get someone (hopefully my son) to block off those spaces so the birds can't get in there any longer. This is on the second floor so this project Will require a long ladder, or I would do it myself.

I didn't get a chance to do anything with the binding on my Poor Quilt. I have changed the name of that quilt to "The Rescued Quilt". It has a more positive ring to it. Don't you think that is a better name??

I want to get to bed a little early tonight. (I know--- I've said that before). Anthony will be here tomorrow.

Good night

Progress on a WIP

A while ago I pulled out a wip and have made good progress on it. This one is my Planet Patchwork Mystery quilt from many years ago. Does anyone recognize it???. Tonight I finished the machine quilting and tomorrow I intend to put the binding on.

I usually go quilting on Wed morning but this morning Tony and I went to a funeral for his sister-in-law -( his first wife's sister-in-law). We saw family members that we haven't seen in years (you know how that goes) and had a really nice visit with everyone. After we got home we both slept for two hours. We must be getting old :( .

It's getting close to bed time again. I should have put the air conditioner on earlier. It's hot up here.

Take care, everyone and good night

The "Poor Quilt"

Tonight I intend to finish another quilt. I am thinking positive so I am going to post a pix of it here. This one I call "The Poor Quilt". The blocks (along with boxes of other stuff) were donated to the senior center for a rummage sale last year. Since I seem to collect this sort of stuff, I dug through the boxes and found these blocks. They were awful. The seams were various sizes and none of the points matches. Very poorly made. People told me to trash them.

I brought them home and after giving them some thought, I figured "heck, no. I'm not going to trash these". The fabric is old but in good condition. I cut them all down to a uniform size and stitched them together and made a quilt top. The points still don't match, but that is alright. It has the look of "an old fashion quilt". I machine quilted it and will be finishing stitching the binding down tonight and remove the basting stitches. It will be donated to our qulting group at the senior center to be sold.

My thoughts were that these "boxes of stuff" were found amoung some old ladies things and no one in her family wanted them so they were given to the center for a rummage sale. I feel that she put a lot of work into putting these blocks together as best she could and no one wanted them. That made me feel sad. NO WAY was I going to trash them. Hopefully, some day, very soon, the "Poor Quilt" will have a good home and will get the love it deserves.

Another Finished Quilt

This evening I finished this Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt. I will be donating it to the J.C. Senior Center where I quilt almost every Wed. morning. I like the quilt but I'm not 100% happy with the workmanship on it. There are to many puckers in the machine quilting. Oh well - It's finished :). Hopefully others won't be as critical as I am.

I got up early this morning and sat on the front porch and ate my oatmeal. I always enjoy the quiet out there in the morning.

I worked at JoAnn Fabrics today and I'm working again tomorrow. I wish I could get more hours in, but we all know this is the slow time of year. In another month there will be plenty of hours available with school starting and people making school clothes, them Halloween, them Christmas.

I'm tired and I'm going to get ready for bed.
Good night...

A FINISH

Finally, Anthony's base ball quilt is finished and labeled and signed. I will want to give it to him next week when he moves into his new home. His Mom got him all new bed room furniture and drapes to match his quilt.
It's almost my bed time so I had better get movin' in that direction.

I sold a Quilt

Yesterday a lady in Pa. purchased the Black & White / Red quilt that I had on my etsy. I packed it up last night and put it in the mail this morning. She should have it by Sat..

What I've Been Doing

I have been in sort of a slump lately. Not really doing much of anything.
Last week I finally finished the binding on Anthony's base ball qult. That came out really nice. I'm pleased with it. Now I just have to make the label and attach it. I have fabric to make a matching pillow case. That one is pictures a few days ago.

I finished the blue check table set that is pictured here. I'm not sure if I like it or not. My husband (Tony) isn't complainng, so I guess I will keep it.

Yesterday I finally finished these blue knit mittens that I started back in Jan when Tony was in the hospital with his heart attack. These will be a Christmas gift for Anthony - if I don't put them away somewhere and forget where I put them. Does anyone else out there do that ????.
Many, many years ago all the kids in the family had these mittens. All of my kids and all of the neices and nephews. They were standard (I could say "expected")Christmas gifts for everyone. A few years ago one of my grown up neices asked for a pair like "I made her when she was little". She has a new pair of mittens and wears them all the time when the weather is cold.

We had a quiet 4th of July around here. I worked this afternoon and came home and took a two hour nap. We had left overs for diner and then went out for our usual short walk. I sat on the front porch and ate my cup of ice cream. The "Blue Angles" were preforming at our airport, so I got to see a small part of that show while I sat and ate my ice cream. I am trying to finish a Log Cabin quilt for our quilting group at the Senior Center. I have it all machine quilted. Now I need to add the binding and finish it up. Maybe one of these days I will get that done.

I need to get busy on my Christmas stockings for Operation Care Package. Now that I have a Grandson in Afganistan, I REALLY need to stay on top of these things.

That's about it for tonight. Take care...

A Testimonial from Jean in Il.

Hi Helen........the bag arrived today and it is beautiful! The workmanship is fantastic! Thank you so much - I will use it with care and often.

Jean

An Expandable Tote Bag for Jean in Il.

Last night I fnally finished this colorful Expandable Tote Bag for Jean. This evening I took pictures, signed it, and packed it up to go in the mail in the morning.

I went to church this morning, then to work at JoAnn Fabrics this afternoon. Nancy stayed with her Dad. Things were slow at work, so we mostly had a "fun day". I had a chance to show off pictures of a couple of the last bags I made. Small "brag books" were available at half price (.59) so I picked up a couple. Now I have a book to put some of my bag pictures in so I can really show them off.

Here it is after 9:30 already. NO ice cream tonight. We ran out last night. BUMMER.
We will have to settle for milk and cookies. I need to clear off my cuttng table and one sewing machine table and put my scrap fabric away. I will probably start another expandable tote bag this evening - or I may work on AJ's quilt - or I may go to bed early??? I haven't decided.

Take care...

A Rainy Day with AJ

Today was a fun day with AJ. It rained off and on all day long. This afternoon he wanted to go outside, so we went out. Foolish me thought he was going to stay on the porch and stay dry. That lasted about two minutes. He worked his way down the steps one at a time and before I knew it he was running around having a good old time. I got lots of pictures and he got soaking wet. After about a half hour I got him back in the house and dried off and got dry clothes on him. I had to bribe him with ice cream to get him to come in.