Happy Valentine's Day

Here is a sampling of the cookies I made last week and mailed off to my college kids.



Taking pictures of cookies at night just isn't a good idea. The flash pictures were even worse. I shall keep practicing. The cookie decorating and the picture taking.

Praise - Hubby and I are celebrating today - it is our BIRTHDAY! 16 years ago on Valentine's Day we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior! HE showed us the very best expression of Love.

Prayers - that we would continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, first and foremost.

I blinked

and my baby grew up.
18 years old today.

That is what he bought last Wednesday.

Happy Birthday son!! I love you.


Quilty post soon. We were gone for the long weekend (taking an extra day even) and now I'm trying to catch up and get ready for a birthday celebration. Cake is in the oven as I type.

Praise - that my son has grown up loving the Lord and that he continues to grow in that relationship.

Prayers - that God would continue to bless my son and that my son would continue to glorify God.

May Day! May Day!

The first day of May started out blustery here in north Idaho but ended up being a sunny day with blue skies. The temperatures were somewhere in the 50's. Can you believe there is snow in the forecast this week? Crazy!

Today was also National Scrapbook Day and probably the first in 10 years that I haven't spent the day scrapping with online friends. Pretty sad. The scrapping community that I was a part of closed the doors at the end of December and I just haven't made a big effort to find another place. Yes, I realize that I can scrapbook on my own but it just won't be the same. Sigh...

So tomorrow I will be giving this quilt;

to its new owner. She has no idea. You see it goes like this,
Out of the blue, on April 6th Des sent me the directions for the quilt and I started immediately to work on it. I mean right then I figured out which fabric I had on hand that would work and I set to work.

When my hubby comes into my sewing room he almost always asks what I’m working on and who it is for since sometimes I am making gifts and sometimes it is for one of the kids or maybe someone has asked me to sew something for them. I had NO IDEA who this quilt would be for, but I wanted an answer for when hubby asked. So I thought while I sewed and then it came to me, I would give this quilt to the lady in our church that was having her birthday next. I had no clue who that might be. I told myself to look it up in the directory when I went upstairs. Well I went upstairs a few times and came back down to my sewing room and would be frustrated because I forgot to look. Same thing the next day, I would totally forget to look (my mind is going, I tell ya!). So fast forward to the next night, a Wednesday and we are off to Bible study. I hadn’t been to church on Easter (sick) and so I picked up a bulletin at the back of the church and carried it up to my seat. When I opened it up I saw the list of birthdays for the week. I was surprised at the name I saw. God had orchestrated the entire thing of course. If the instructions had been given to me months ago or even the next week this all would have played out differently, but God knew. I even thought for just a fraction of a second to give it to someone else. I hadn't told hubby yet of my plan so who would know? Oh yeah, God would know and I would know too. You see, the lady this was going to, well we have a past and it is a rocky one and things aren't all that smooth now. Oh, we are pleasant with one another but nothing more than necessary. So on the way home from Bible study I told hubby. He got the biggest kick out of it all. He thought it was GREAT! He was excited for this quilt to be finished and given away. I have never had hubby and my son so interested in when a quilt would be done!

Once I knew who the quilt was for, I prayed for her while I sewed. I prayed for her relationship with God, I prayed for her marriage, I prayed for her role as a wife and mother and I thanked God for her. Yes, I even talked to Him about my own attitude and part in this relationship. I actually wrote up most of this story to give to her with the quilt. I am going to give the package to her husband to put in the car and have him give it to her when they get home.

I wonder what God has planned next for me! I sure hope it involves fabric. ;)

Praise - for such an AWESOME God! That He orchestrates even the little things in my life to glorify Himself.

Prayers - I pray that I would not have the teeniest hesitation to be obedient to Him and that I would trust His timing and perfect will.

Surprise projects reveal

Now that college girl has celebrated her birthday and opened her gifts I can show two of my finished projects. I sent Kelly the pictures of the fabric and patterns for these so that no surprises would be ruined.

College girl LOVES Hibiscus flowers so some comfy, flannel jammie pants were in order. She probably put them on soon after opening them since she said she had had so many cupcakes. She had lots of friends making her day special.


Here is the pillow that I made using Allison's tutorial. All those leaves are made from scraps from the quilt that I made this summer for college girl's dorm room.


I feel like I've made good progress on my November goals and I hope to sew today too. Monday and Tuesday were a bust as far as sewing goes. I'm trying to decide which project to work on next. Decisions, decisions.

Praise - College Girl had a GREAT birthday and was showered with love by so many of her friends and family.

Prayers - For a man at church waiting and hoping for a diagnosis for what ails him. That a doctor that knows what needs to done will be made available to him. That he and his wife would rest in the Lord.

Where does time go?

This sweet baby was born at the exact time of this post, 12:15 AM.

20 years ago.

The newspaper headlines were all about the Berlin Wall coming down but she was the biggest news in our lives.



This photo was taken just a few weeks ago. Such a beautiful girl,inside and out.


College girl is no longer a teen! 20 years old today. Seriously, where does the time go? This will be the first time we aren't all together for her birthday. Even if we had driven the 6 hours to see her she has a packed school/work schedule and our time together would have been pretty limited. It will be great to have her home for Thanksgiving.

I LOVE YOU, College Girl!!

Praise - that college girl has grown into a beautiful, Godly young woman.

Prayer - that college girl would have a GREAT birthday, celebrating with friends. That she would continue to seek God's will for her life and to be pleasing in His sight.

My Baby's Birthday

That chubby cheeked 6 month old pictured above turned 17 today. He doesn't have an ounce of pudge on him despite my best efforts. He is now 6'6" and just as happy as he was when that picture was taken. Where has the time gone???

I spent the day with him, just hanging out. This evening when hubby got home we went to see the new Night at the Museum movie. I will have to post a picture of the cake, all his idea, a cake sized version of Bakerella's cake balls!!

This is the first birthday he has celebrated without his sister here, that was different and kinda sad. She will be home next week though and they will catch up then.

Praise - for the wonderful Godly young man my son has grown to be and continues to grow into daily. That I have had the privelege of being his mother.

Prayers - for my son, that he would continue to desire God's will for his life. That he would seek to please Him above all else.

This has GOT to give me more sewing time

So it has been 11 days or so since I blogged. That can't be good. I miss being on the computer. I really miss sewing! My craft room is a disaster. Oh I have sewing that I SHOULD be doing. The thing is I am STILL waiting for the previous owner to fix a hole in the ceiling in here. He did have some dude come by to patch it, but no one has come by to tape it and mud it and paint it. It is directly under where my sewing table should go. Of course it is. The first dude that cut some dry wall made a huge mess that he didn't' clean up. I am NOT setting my machine up under there and then letting dude #2 show up to make another mess. I can't set up my table until it is in place because it has these BIG and HEAVY drawers which are full of fabric and patterns. This situation does not make me happy.

We went away this past weekend, to see my daughter for her 19th birthday. We took a couple of her friends from here along. We stayed with friends, took them shopping, ate, partied, caught up. The adults went to a semi-formal event for Families Northwest where John Tesh was the entertainment. That was a lovely evening.

The day we took all the girls shopping hubby and I went to Costco and got this;

I have it on the charger right now. I can't wait to let it do its thing! I figure it is one less thing I will have to do. I am going to schedule it to clean every single day. Otherwise the dark wood floors that show everything are going to be the end of me. Anything to create more sewing time is a good thing...RIGHT??? :D

My son and the guys we visited all made a music video this past weekend. It was so much fun to watch. Any chance my son gets to make a movie he jumps on it. This is what he wants to do after all. Good thing his friends are all hams and enjoy being in the movies.

It was so hard to say good-bye to my daughter again. She didn't want to go back to school. She wanted to hang out with us, not have studying to do. I suggested she drop out, move back home and get a job in this podunk town. She figured she'd better go back to school after all. Thanksgiving break is coming up soon and then after that she has a couple weeks and then she is home for her winter break and Christmas!!!!

I had minimal time to spend in TWO Super JoAnns. They were having a huge sale but having just about 20 minutes in the one store and seeing the very long lines, and not much longer in the second store and having three bored young ladies trailing me....wahhhhh!!! I saw so many things I would have liked to get. Did any of you get to their sale??

I am still not totally out of the other house, or unpacked of the boxes and boxes that are now in this house. I'd best get a move on. I just wanted you to know that yes, I am still alive. I did get two aprons off in the mail last week! Those were the final items to be sewn in the old house and then my room could be packed up.

Praise for safe travel to and from the big city and for my awesome hubby who makes the drive basically alone while the rest of us sleep. Prayers for my daughter as she hangs in there for a few more weeks until the end of the first quarter. Prayers that my son would continue to be diligent with his schoolwork too.

I miss him

Today was my dad's birthday. He would have been 94 today. I really miss him. He passed away the year before I got married. I so wish he could have met my children. He would have loved them. They would have loved him.

This self portrait was taken in 1960.


Hug your fathers and grandfathers if you still have them to hug. Tell them you love them.

Getting older isn't SO bad

I mean it beats the alternative, right?? Just kidding. I have never had a problem with my birthdays and getting older. We always celebrate our birthdays and it is a great family time.


Today my hubby and kids showered me with presents and attention and food. My son gave me a cute card that he made (with a picture of me on my 3rd birthday) and a frame with the promise to make a collage of pictures of all the things I have made for him, to hang in my sewing room. My daughter gave me a college MOM window decal and a t-shirt along with a multi page card that she made with a list of things she loves about me. My hubby gave me a card - stop the presses right there. I have known this man for 36 years and he has given me maybe 10 cards (includes valentines, birthday and anniversary). It was a hilarious Hoops & YoYo card and in it he wrote that I could have the sewing machine of my choice - price was no object. I KNOW! He said he would have liked to give me a machine but really had NO IDEA what I would like.


He was all ready to head out to look at machines. Ummmm, that requires a one-two hour drive at least. The three of them would be bored to tears. He might renege on the deal when he saw the actual prices. Too risky. Instead we stayed home and did some research online.

ANY input at all is appreciated. My first inclination is the Bernina. Pros? Cons?




Hubby said he doesn't want me to put it off and end up not getting one. It would be fun to get it sooner rather than later!

My friends showered me with presents today too. I received a new cartridge for my Cricut -FUN! Some cabin-y placemats/napkins and potholders and towels. A reed diffuser - mmmmmm, lovely scent and some Bath & Body Works Lavender/vanilla sleep lotion and bath gel and candle. I received phone calls and emails as well.
This afternoon we went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth, but NOT in 3D (podunk town) and it was pretty good. It is always nice to see a movie that doesn't offend anyone in the family. Then we went to a very nice dinner out, overlooking the lake. The place has the BEST chocolate cake but we were all so full from dinner. Hmmmm, how about cake to go?? That was the ticket. Two pieces. The kids shared one and hubby and I shared the other. OY! I really do have to get back on the diet wagon. Tomorrow. REALLY!

On the sewing front...yesterday I was able to get the Warm & White for the quilt I am working on. I hope to get that to the quilters this week or next. I need to call them about the binding. They told me one width but the instructions on the pattern call for a different width. I am ready to start on a new project (ohhhhhhhhhh, or should I wait for a new machine???), but what it will be, I can't decide.

Praises - I thank God for every day that He has given me, for the family that He has allowed me to be a part of and for His saving grace. I thank Him for my brother's recovery from surgery and the adverse reaction to his meds.

Better late than never???

Sometime in January my daughter and I went to a purse party where we both picked out fabric and trim for custom made purses. It was going to be 8 weeks until we got the purses. Coming up in February a friend of the family, a college age gal, was having a birthday. I said to my daughter "HEY! I can make her a purse!" We got online and looked at patterns and fabric. I ordered a couple patterns and I ordered an assortment of Amy Butler fabrics. The birthday came and went. My son kept asking me, "did you sew her purse yet?" and I answered, "NO! not yet". I get a little testy when someone questions my procrastination. I always felt that I had other stuff that HAD to be done. Lame excuse. I know. About a month ago I finally decided which pattern to use, from Cindy Taylor Oates' Slouchy Bags book, and cut the fabric out. There it sat. This past Wednesday I felt as though my other commitments were out of the way and I sat down to sew. It came together pretty quickly and easily. Clear directions were the ticket to success here. Then I saw the blog post for 6/25 at http://www.pamkittymorning.blogspot.com/ and knew that I needed to make a similar pin to dress up the purse. (note **My daughter is the model here :D)


The next morning I had my daughter stop in town and get some buttons to cover and as soon as I covered that one, a whole new world of covering buttons opened up to me. I thought it added SO much! But I wanted to make it with a ruffle around it - I have no ruffler attachment. Thinking, thinking....so the kids suggested using two layers, so that the button would not blend with the ruffle and the ruffle would not blend with the purse (they are smart that way and I like their input). But boy oh boy what a dunce I was. I had NO IDEA how to attach the ruffle TO the button! I dinked around with it for quite a bit, trying different things that didn't work. I finally settled on gluing it, putting a thin strip of Zip Dry glue around the back edge of the button that was covered with fabric. Then I pushed the ruffle on there and fussed with it until it was just how I wanted it. THEN I put something very heavy on top of it all and left it to dry for a bit. I am not sure how secure it is and how long it will last. I used a safety pin on the inside of the purse to attach the button and so it can be easily removed. We presented it to our friend on Thursday afternoon and she really likes it!!! Guess what I found out on Thursday night. No, really, guess. Go ahead.



I found out that I had PERFECT directions on how to make a ruffle and attach it to a self covered button right there on my sewing table! Yeah, I know. Better Homes & Garden 'Quilts and More' Summer 2008. Detailed instructions. No need for me to reinvent the wheel. You can roll your eyes now. I did. I will use their directions next time.