A few more goodies.......

My handsome hubby had Friday and Saturday off from work

so I spent the weekend hanging out with him.

It was so nice to be able to sleep in!

We even took a motorcycle ride on Saturday :)

I did manage to get a few more goodies done

for the craft show this coming Wednesday.

I made some cup cozies.

A few for the guys and a few for the gals.

I'm working on a few more today.

I also finished the 3rd Christmas mug rug.

My evening stitching produced this darling

little piece by Little House Needleworks called "Woodland Sampling".

Then today I made the mistake of going to M & L yardage.

I only needed 1/2 yd of Kona for the dolls I'm working on.

Look what came home with me.....

I have no excuse.........

Work in Progress Wednesday

Seems like I've been away from Blogland for a long time.

But November is a busy month for our family.

We have 3 birthdays and Thanksgiving to deal with :)

I have done a bit of sewing

in between trips to Disneyland and birthday parties.

I'm taking part in a craft fair next Wednesday

and I wanted to add a few items.

None of these are completed just yet.

The pattern and iron on labels for the mug rugs 

are from Sweetwater. 

There is a third one I'm still working on.

The mug rugs still need some cording 

through the grommets

and the key chains all need Velcro.

Don't you think they'll make cute stocking stuffers?

You can put a chap stick or a jump drive

or even a few bucks in the little pocket :)

The pattern is called "Key Fob Pockets" by Susie C Shore Designs.

It's totally FTS :)

Well,

I'd better get back to work.....

Sandy Quilt Block Drive

Watching the news and seeing the devastation back east 

and the extreme conditionsthat those affected

 are dealing with makes we want to do something to help out.

You may be like me

 and not have much in the way of extra cash to send,

but I do have lots of fabric scraps

 and when I got this email about the quilt drive

being organized, it was a perfect fit for me. 

The need is great. 

If you are interested in finding out more,

just follow this link  HERE and register

to sew blocks or assemble quilts.

The block tutorial is included in the link

and you don't have to be a master quilter

 to make these blocks.

Can you help?

A Bit of Joy and some Ho Ho Ho!

"Joy" stitched on 36ct Country Mocha linen over 2 threads.

My blog has been quiet for a while,

hasn't it?

It sure seems that way to me.....

I've had a gnarly sinus headache for the last few days.

It's so hard to get anything done when you don't feel well.

I did get some stitching done though.

The photo above is a free chart 

and you can find it HERE.

I'm not sure if I want to make it into an ornament

or a little pillow.......

I changed the colors (of course)

mainly because I don't like the idea of green snowflakes.

If I ever see green snowflakes falling from the sky

I'll be sure to get out of the way immediately!

I also thought the heart should hang from a golden thread.

I finished Ho Ho Ho in a Row from Lizzie Kate.

I'm making this into a little pillow for sure.

 

Ho Ho Ho in a Row by Lizzie Kate stitched on 28ct Pewter Lugana over 2 threads.

 Today I finished another "Infinity Bag".

I know what you're thinking.....

haven't we seen that bag before?

Well my friend Annie from Crazy Annie's Stitchin' and Stuff

saw the bag I made for a friend and wanted one just like it.

She also wanted a tissue cover to match :)

So tomorrow this pair will be on it's way to Waukegan!

How fun is that?

Next on my agenda is

 a couple of dolls for my darling granddaughters.

I can't wait to get started!!!

What is Chuck Norris' favorite cut of meat?

A very sweet friend of mine

 asked me to make an apron for her hubby.

I asked her if she had a color or theme in mind.

She said 

"is Chuck Norris a theme?"

Totally!!!!

I immediately started searching the internet

 for Chuck Norris fabric.

 Sadly......I found none.

Then I searched ebay for Chuck Norris t-shirts

and found this one that was food related.

I thought it was perfect, but it was used

and had a stain VERY close to the "roundhouse".

I had her look at it.

She loved it, bought it and sent it to me.

Here is what I came up with.

I used Wonder Under to make an applique

out of the t-shirt graphic.

I used brown twill tape to make a frame around

the graphic that allowed me to get 

close to the lettering, covering the stain.

I used heavy brown cotton canvas for the apron.

I added a large pocket that is divided into 3.

She asked for a "belt loop" to thread a dish towel through

like they do on Top Chef :)

I'm happy with the way it came out.

I hope she'll be happy too.

Who wouldn't love a little bit of Chuck Norris for Christmas?

I mean.....seriously?

Happy Election Day!

Elijah - the birthday boy :)

Elijah - "Mom.....I think YOU should be the President......

Nana can watch us."

I love this boy!

Hope you all got a chance to go out and vote!!!

For my Junior Artist :)

A while back I showed you the fabric

that I had made at Spoonflower 

from a drawing that my oldest grandson made.

Well today is his birthday 

and I wanted to give him an art caddy 

so that he could create some more special things.

I had a remnant of Lightning McQueen fabric

that I knew would come in handy one day.

Well yesterday Cherise from Sewingly Along

and I had a play date :)

(why should children have all the fun?????)

We spent the evening cross stitching and chatting.

But before that, we decided to check out  

the new Hobby Lobby in Huntington Beach.

Holy Cow that place is HUGE!

 Cherise found the cutest gingerbread couple

salt & pepper shakers (at 50% off) 

who doesn't love a great deal????

and I bought some colored pencils,

 a drawing pad, a pencil sharpener and a gum eraser.

I used Peltex to give the caddy some strength

 and I used clear vinyl and  velcro to make a flap

 to keep the pencils in place.

The drawing pad slides into a sleeve that I made

to keep it in place as well.

I made a zippered pouch on the front 

to hold the eraser and sharpener.

The birthday boy is spending the day today

 with his parents and siblings at Disneyland. 

He won't get this until tomorrow.

Hope he likes it :)

8 more Saturdays.......

Can you believe it's November 1st?

I know you may not want to hear this 

but that means only 8 Saturdays left before Christmas!

I know....right?

I still have lots to do.

My crazy dream is to be done with all my Christmas projects

by the end of November (for the first time ever)

and just spend the month of December

enjoying all the wonders of the season

with my fantastic grandchildren.

We'll see how that all works out...ha!

When my friend died last month

it made me realize (again) that each day is a gift from God

and only He knows the number of our days.

It also made me think about the fact

that there are a couple of things that I would 

really like to change in my life.

Which reminds me of a movie quote from

 Grumpy Old Men

when Burgess Meredith says

"You can wish in one hand, 

and crap in the other......

which one do you think will fill up first?"

I can wish all day long 

that things will change,

but in the end I have to make those changes.

Some people have a lengthy "bucket list".

I'm a simple girl. 

I don't want to sky dive,

or zip line through the canopy of the Rain Forrest.

I feel so incredibly blessed in this life.

Right now there are only 2 things on my list.

First, I'd like to be physically fit.

I have spent the past year changing my eating habits

and that has been so incredibly hard,

but so incredibly rewarding at the same time.

But now I need to get the whole exercise thing down.

So I joined the 24hr Fitness

and I've proceeded to destroy myself on a regular basis :)

Also I really want to get our financial house in order.

I've been reading Debt Proof Living by Mary Hunt

and I'm working towards living our lives by

10 - 10- 80.

Which means from each paycheck

you first give 10% to God, then 10% to savings

and learn to live on 80% of your income.

We've been on the 10 - 90 team for a long time.

Savings hasn't been an option.

It's amazing where you can cut expenses

when you really look at where your money goes.

I'm learning the difference between

needs vs wants.

That's a hard one for me......

(especially when fabric is on sale)

I really want to be able to look back

at the end of each day

and say to myself that I took one step forward

towards reaching my goals.

(And who knows,

if I get fit and have money in savings......

I just might decide to try that zip line after all :)