Settler's Pride BOM, Still in Progress!

I've made some progress, I have.

I've completed the three levels of grass, the cabin, the logs, the door, the flower's stem, and now I'm working on the fence. See??? Told Ya!

I think I'm lovin' this block. Well, now that I'm at least half way done I'm warming up to it, LOL!

I feel like the little engine that could, "I know I can, I know I can..."

Maybe I'll hav it done by the end of the week; who knows?

Stay tuned!

That Little Place We Call Home

I was reading somewhere about decorating with small quilts, and only then did it occur to me that I seldom share pics of my home. There's nothing particularly impressive about the tiny little house that we call Home and maybe that's why I never think that anyone would really care to see it, but because I LOVE seeing other people's homes (is that wrong of me???Does that make me nosey? Oh dear, I think it does...LOL!), and because I am asked quite frequently, "But what do you do with all those little quilts?", I thought I'd start a series that due to the size of my home, will last about 1.2 posts, hahaha! (OK, maybe three posts...) I'll call it the Home Show!
This is a pic of one of the walls in the living room, this pic was taken 04/25/2010, and yes, those are Fall quilts, and a bunny quilt living in perfect harmony in my home.
I love Fall! ... and I love Bunnies too. So there you have it... your first glimpse into that little place we call home. B=)

Settler's Pride BOM, Slow and Steady

I may not be fast but I sure am steady, hahahaha.....Here's what I have :
cabin, check
logs, check
door, check
1st grass, almost, LOL!
I had to put the fence in before I stitched the grass on so I fused it...
ah, c'mon! I was getting pretty tired of basting, cut me some slack, LOL!
I started basting the roof and it turned out that it was wonky.
Good thing it was just basting, eh?
OK, so that's it for now. I'm going to try and get some more crafting in before the guys get back from the movies...I wanted to go to the movies too, but I was "just not invited" as my Prince likes to point out. "Only Dad and Gene are invited", he says.
I'm not complaining, I'm just sayin'... might have been nice to see JLo's new chick flick, before it came out on DVD! The story of my life....

Settler's Pride BOM, Block 1

Now in progress~!I did it! I cut out all the pieces for my first block! I'm so excited!!!!
I wanted my quilt to look as close to the original one as possible so I made sure to order all the woolens from the designer's source. I'm so glad I did. They are amazing.
I spent the weekend cutting the kits and with the exception of this month's newbies they have all gone out. Since I am still waiting on the woolens for those, I thought I'd start my sample and now I can't wait to get started stitching it all down.
BTW... I really don't "get" the freezer paper... it peels off the wool when I cut it.
What's up with that? Maybe I'm a little too aggressive with the steam???
I decided to forgo my usual friend Mr. Fusible Web... and now my thought is WHY????
Too late now, LOL! Stay tuned for an update. =)
It's not too late to start your own Settler's Pride wool quilt.
You can join the Settler's pride BOM monthly mailing program HERE!
The woolens are yummy. They come labeled and ready for you to start right away!
Fun, Fun, Fun!

A Springtime Gift

A Funny thing happened on the way to work today....
I was on my way to turn on the iPod and saw the sun was rising. I get the creepiest feeling when I see the daylight. I feel rushed, like, "OMG! It's dawn already!" and then I try to ignore the fact, and get on with my work before it's time to shut down for homeschool.
Well, this morning I was cutting wool and all of a sudden I realized I was working in silence. I knew I was missing something (Yeah, besides that second Red Bull...which totally explains why it was soooo quiet), it was my "story"... audiobooks, gotta love those! So, I go turn it on and I find myself staring out the window (I really did need that second RB!) and WHAM! All of a sudden it hits me, there's a flower on my tree!
I look closer, OMG! It really is a flower....
I rush to get my camera and the battery is dead; so I wait. Once the green light is on (about an hour later, duh!); I can finally document it, LOOK!

This is a true gift. I can't remember the last time I saw this tree bloom, and if you have never planted a twig and hoped for a tree..well, you just wouldn't understand!

And THEN, I decided to look around and there were more gifts in the flowerbed. Tulips, and Grape Hyacinths, and Lamb's Ears... and then I had to come inside and show you... Oh, I think it's going to be a good day at the Pumpkin Patch... even if we have to work, and study hard for the rest of the day, LOL!

I hope your day is filled with Springtime gifts too!B=)

We Have A WINNER!

Thank you to all who entered my Spring Giveaway. I decided that I'd give the Random generator a try and see how I liked it. So without further delays I give you....drum roll please,

The Winner!!!! TADA!!! No, I don't know who #9 is but I'll go check.

Be right back...don't go anywhere... OK, I'm back. The winner is

Michelle Harter of Rocking Chair Stitches!

Woo-HOO!

Congratulations Michelle. Email me your mailing address and I'll get these right out! Thanks to all who joined in the fun!B=)

It's a Spring Giveaway!

I have chickies chirping at the windows in the mornings and daffodils blooming in my garden (those are from my garden, thankyouverymuch),

so I know it must be Spring; finally!
To celebrate this most expected blessing I am having a Giveaway, HOORAY!
I'll be giving away a Chick-a-dee, Chick-a-doo fat quarter bundle by Robert Kauffman. These fabrics are adorable. The bundle has nine fat quarters and they could be yours.
To enter you just need to leave a comment and make sure you have a return email associated with your username. If you have a no-reply as your email setting, just add it to your entry by adding it to your comment, that's ok too. Entries with no email will be removed. Giveaway open to US residents only, sorry .
I will draw a winner on Sunday!

Happy Spring!

Retail Therapy is a Good Thing!

Ever have one of those weekends where you're totally psyched and then you get blindsided and WHAM! It's all over? Well I had one of those. Saturday was a bust and after a restless night and too few hours of sleep I was about to call Sunday a bust too.

I had made plans with Lynn for a full day of fun; brunch, shopping, chatting. The whole kit and caboodle! And then I woke up and my body groaned. UGHHHHH. LOL! Yep, I was a mess. After some serious "talking to" my brain worked its magic and I was in the game again.

A late start at 10:30, and a precarious drive (I'm sooo bad with directions I get lost in an elevator going Up!), I landed at her doorstep a little after noon. Woo-HOO!A little tour, and we were off to RI for some lunch and shopping. What fun time we had. I wont bore you with the details but here's Lynn with some of the loot, in front of her house. Excuse me, we were stimulating the local economy, hee-hee. I have to add in closing that we got kicked out of the last shoppe we went to... yep, again! We are so bad. We get together and close things down. Last time we closed down the mall, this time we closed down the shoppes in the village. Just goes to show that time flies when you're having fun!

Thanks Lynn for such a fun day, I really needed that! B=)

Your Child on GPS, Priceless!

When GP was four years old, he walked out the door and disappeared. Literally! He was found by the police; he was identified by my description of what he was wearing, about a quarter of a mile from our home. He was nonverbal, he is autistic, he was easy prey and it was one of the worse days of my life. He had crossed two busy streets and was walking to Wendy's. He was hungry.

Hey, the child is autistic, not stupid! LOL!
After this dreadful day we lived in a dead bolted house, at all times. If there was a fire we would have had to break a window to flee our own home. It was a time of fear. Fear inside the home and fear outside of the home. I slept on the couch and Gino slept with GP; if he wandered at night I would "catch" him at the bottom of the stairs before he got into anything. We had the house covered but the "outside world" was still impossible. I looked into child tracking devices but they were impossibly expensive and just did not seem like the right fit for our needs. Anyway, time has brought us many advances and one of them is the cellphone.
Oh yes, GP has a cellphone. He actually has two, don't ask. I don't know why he has two. It's just one of those things that is... I guess he wants to be "really" sure he doesn't miss any calls. (Oh wait, the Puppy Spa is on his speed dial but grandma isn't. Please don't tell my Mom.)
Anyway, what I wanted to share was that today I found out that Blackberry has a GPS APP, and it's FREE!

OMG! I'm doing the happy dance, HOORAY! If his ringer is off I can still find him. This is probably not what this app was designed for, but I tell you...my Prince on GPS, Priceless!

Or $89/month before taxes,

depending on how you look at it. LOL!

Footnote:

It just occurred to me that you wouldn't get the Wendy's reference so here's a footnote. When GP was about three and a half he stopped eating "regular" food. It was a sensory thing. It was a long time ago so I choose to forget the worst of it but suffice it to say that for a few years all he ate was chicken nuggets from Wendy's. But this too did pass. Thank God! So when he was hungry he signed (ASL) eat and we would get in the car and drive to Wendy's... he knew the way, and he knew that's where they had the food he ate. He was hungry, I was busy, he decided to go without me. Smart Kid! It would have been nice if he had told me before he took off without me. Huh? When I was reunited with him I was sobbing and asking him "Gene Paul, where were you going? Why did you leave Mom?" and he smiled at me and signed "Eat!" That's the only time I have ever been in a cruiser. I could not walk and had to be driven home.

I would have killed for a GPS that day!

I Heart Taylor Swift's Love Story!

OK, so I found this track on Playlist and I am hooked.

Taylor Swift's Love Story Remix
(right click to open in new tab so you can sing along, LOL!)Warning!
If you are not a Pet Shop Boys fan you might not get this beat...
but if you're a Closet Disco Dancing Queen...you'll be rocking!
Woo-HOO! Have fun!
Oh, it's on my playlist and here are the lyrics so you can sing along...oh, stop it!
You know you want to! (or you will if you're a CDDQ!)

Love Story lyrics
Songwriters: Swift, Taylor Alison;

We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes
And the flashback starts
I'm standing there
On a balcony in summer air

See the lights
See the party, the ball gowns
I see you make your way through the crowd
And say hello, little did I know

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you please don't go, and I said

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes

So I sneak out to the garden to see you
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew
So close your eyes
Escape this town for a little while

'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
But you were everything to me
I was begging you please don't go and I said

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes

But I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around
My faith in you is fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said

Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you but you never come
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring, and said,

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes

Romeo save me
don't try to tell me how to feel
this love is difficult but it is real
don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess
It's a love story baby just say yes

Another Work In Progress...

Ever feel like your all out of "craftiness"? I've been feeling that way lately.

I can't find my crafting MOJO. It's so sad, it depresses me... but last night I said I need to make something. I must make something!

So this is what I made... TADA!

It's a Sewing Case! Mind you, this is not a
"get your mojo back kind of project". This is more of a "What the **** !", kind of project, LOL! Yeah, I'm thinking this just looks like a beginner project but when I started making it (by the time I read the directions I had already sliced and diced all the wool so it was either I made it or chucked the wool...are you nuts?!) I discovered that THIS is what the inside looked like:
Hello?! There are pockets on the other side too...better pics when I finish the last pocket but I really just had to take a mental break...what's up with all the pockets? OK, so it's really, REALLY cute, but I am feeling a little worked up about the pocket situation. And the directions are "like" four pages long...hello? I saw the little flower pot and and was hooked, I didn't bargain for all that work...I thought it was a needlecase! I was dooped by this pattern... But who knew I could make pockets? LOL!
Anyway, I did get to try out some of the fancy stitches on my Bernina... and I did use some awesome threads. I also used raw silk for the pockets and all hand dyed woolens for the outside and the applique.
I really love the way it looks and it's almost done, so stay tuned... my fancy schmancy pockets with flap covers are on the other side. Well, you didn't think I was going to show you the whole thing in one post, did you? =)