Special Delivery

Brrrr… its a cold one today. Minus 2 degree start but the sun is shining and I know some of you have it much worse this week so I am not going to complain. Its a good thing I ate my Wheaties this morning as UPS delivered a nice big box of wool felt. And just pretend you don't see those fake poinsettias on my entry table…. they are not really there :)

I finished writing my new pattern this weekend and it is now available on my web site. My pretty model is all stitched up in yummy wools, just in time for Valentines Day or any special occasion. My heart is always very happy to see a finished pattern. Because usually there is another nipping right at its heels. 

This week I will be busy writing the pattern for a new Easter design. Cuteness abounds in this one and you are just going to LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Also working on a pdf file for a small design. PDF patterns are new to me and I am anxious to see how it turns out.

And now its time to lug all that wool felt upstairs. Enjoy the remainder of your week and stay warm!

Back in action

Getting back on track… "back" is the key word here I guess. Last week I had out patient surgery on my back, I had been in agony the past 6 weeks. This was supposed to fix that and today I finally feel like I may be turning the corner, knock on wood! YAY!!!

Hubby has been the absolute best nurse. While I huddled on the sofa with my blanket and stuffed pink elephant and whined just little bit, he sat in his corner of the room and nodded and smiled sympathetically. Then I noticed he had his headphones on and was plugged into his iPad LOL! 

Seriously though, he has been just super. Taking orders to the post office, shopping for groceries and running errands, he has been a very busy boy!

I hope to have my next pattern finished this weekend for show and tell. 

Yesterday this yummy fabric arrived in the mail, "Surrounded By Love" by Deb Strain. Boy there are a lot of cute Valentines fabrics out there. Last night I had so many ideas flowing through my head I could hardly sleep just thinking about them. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you get to sew all weekend long! 

In the blink of an eye..

Another Christmas come and gone as quickly as I blinked it seemed. 

The question most asked of me on Facebook is did Santa bring you a kitty? Well no he did not, but under the tree instead was this beautiful 1935 Singer Featherweight. Beautifully restored, Santa said it would purr when fed lots of pretty fabric. 

We had a very busy Christmas week and spent this past weekend in Oklahoma. We drove down with Hubbys 92 year young Dad so he could visit with his Granddaughters and 4 great grandsons! We stayed on our daughter and son in laws family scenic property in the middle of Oklahoma. We lucked out with beautiful weather and a great time was enjoyed by all. Here are the 4 Grandsons out climbing  and running off some excess energy. 

I just finished boxing up all the tree ornaments a short while ago. I always feel a little sad to see them go, but it is time to get this new year rolling.

Yesterday I finished sewing the last bits and pieces on to my latest penny mat design. Two new patterns to write for the New Year. Are you cooking a special dinner to celebrate New Years? In my family we usually have a pork and sauerkraut dinner. I am off the hook tonight however. Grandpa leaves for Florida in the morning and is taking us out for barbecue tonight, any time I get out of cooking is a good time for me!

Best wishes to you for a Happy New Year! 

Two more days!

The big day is really close now, my count down Santa shows 2 days!

I spent this week in the kitchen baking, lots and lots of cookies, cut outs, iced thumbprints and candy cane cookies, just a few of my Moms recipes. I crank up the Christmas music and get after it, pretty soon a dusting of flour blankets the kitchen and bowls of icing colors and sprinkles are everywhere. And each year I say I am not going to go through this mess anymore…. and when I'm done I feel spent yet complete and content, it just would not be Christmas without Moms cookies! 

Last night we had our 1st significant snow fall, only a few inches but it looks like we will enjoy a white Christmas with temperatures hovering near 0 the next few mornings. The house has been decked out for weeks now, with anticipation of Grandpas arrival, Hubbys Dad flew in all the way from Florida. We are so excited to have him here with us, this week we will have pictures to take of 4 generations! These few days before Christmas should be relaxed and pretty stress free. Tonight we visited our son  and his fiancé and had dinner with them. Tomorrow Hubby and Gramps will pal around and I am going to make a big pan of fudge and maybe do a little hand sewing.

Most of my family and friends know all I want for Christmas is a kitty. I know poor Santa has been feeling a lot of pressure over this. And of course I know we do not always get what we want so I am going to try to not think about this…... too much.

And so before closing I do want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, may you experience all the wonders and joys of the season. I'll be back next week, maybe with pictures of my new kitty ha ha!

A Few Of My Favorite Things….

This weekend was spent finishing decorating the house. I think our Christmas tree is one of my favorite things. Lights twinkling around ornaments, some have their own little stories to tell and memories to share. 

Such as a favorite Gingerbread man our son made 25 years ago. Can you believe those raisin eyes are still firmly attached, he makes me smile.

And Hubbies ornament he made when he was in Cub Scouts. Now let me ask you, why oh why did he choose such a festive background color lol?

Both of us really missed Cleo's presence, she was really all about that tree! This picture is from her 1st kitty Christmas, when she could climb the tree, nothing more frightening than looking at your tree and having eyes stare back at you lol! The bottom branches now quite saggy, when she got to big to climb she was content to nest in the bottom. 

The mantle is decked out with sparkly greenery, candles and birds.

My antique sideboard is draped with a string of vintage children's cards.

I finished decorating a gingerbread house, don't you just love that smell!

All good little dolls get a candy cane each.

An elf looks down on it all. I collected elves long before the "Elf On A Shelf " book made elves cool. I have lots of them in all shapes and sizes, musical and glowing lol! My children always thought they were scary, I've always thought they were cute in their own little way. 

Have you been good or bad?

The stockings were hung

The stockings were hung… or not. The number of stockings on my fireplace seem to grow smaller each year. I just finished knitting the stocking for Kelly, our sons fiancee. It's the one on the left, the middle stocking is our sons and I knitted that one when he was a baby. The one on the right is the new Grand dogs stocking, and no I did not knit one for him but made it out of felt. I have them all bagged up with a few ornaments as they are anxious to start their own holiday traditions. Well, actually our son kind of thought we would keep his stocking here and fill it until he was 90 LOL. I had to give him a wee nudge. 

So now 2 stockings are hung by the chimney with care, one for Jerry and one for me hang there. 

But wait, we are having a guest for Christmas! Grandpa is flying in from Florida. I doubt he will remember to bring his stocking! And so I found this cute one already made up. Three stockings for Santa to fill! 

This weekend we will drag the tree up from the basement. I can't wait, my favorite part is a twinkling tree. Are you finished with your decorating yet?

Gobble Gobble, home again!

Home again, gobble gobble, to a refrigerator empty of Thanksgiving leftovers. I can't remember the last time we did not cook a Thanksgiving dinner here, but this year we decided to spend it with our daughter and grandsons in Texas. We drove, or I should say Hubby drove and I worked on knitting a stocking all the way down and back. 17 hours of knitting and still not done but I made good progress. 

And here are our little Texans! Thursday we had a great time cooking our feast, playing games and putting together advent calendars. The weather was beautiful and the boys were able to spend time outdoors running off excess energy. We did a little shopping on Friday. I am not a big fan of black Friday shopping and the crowds, but Old Navy had 50% off just about everything and we got lots of winter clothes for two growing boys. 

Our visit flew on by way to fast and today we headed home. For lunch we were able to stop in Oklahoma City at a favorite spot of mine, Ingrid's Kitchen. Lots of wonderful German and other foods with a European flair, as you can see I had the Reuben and warm German potato salad. YUM! They also have fresh baked breads, cases full of pastries, eclairs, cakes, pies and….

cookies!!!! I brought some home with us :)

One of the 1st things we noticed in our absence is the Christmas cactus grows closer and closer to blooming! 

And now we still have a car to finish unloading, and new lists to make, because as you can see… my countdown Santa says 26 days until Christmas! Better get busy!