Well at least I was busy!

I was keeping busy all last week SEWING! When I wasn't working I was trying to stay on task at the sewing machine. A friend was going to a craft fair for the first time and talked me into sharing the table with her. Good thing this is podunk and I didn't need hundreds of items. I think.
Anyway, I made 4 children's aprons, 2 women's half aprons, two scarves and one purse (to add to the one purse I already had on hand). Here is the purse that I made;
the front

and the back

Repurposed from the Hunky Dory skirt that Corrie at Quilt Taffy offered up. Pattern is by Craft Apple.

So I sewed and sewed and wished for more time. I stayed up until 2 getting everything ready the night before. Met my friend at 7:45AM and went to the podunk community center to set up. The fair was from 9 - 1. That was the longest 4 hours of my life. Painfully long hours. Most of the traffic we had was the other vendors. 16 of them. It didn't help that it was pouring outside, or they hadn't advertised much. I sold one children's apron. My friend didn't sell anything. I know I should never say never but...

I didn't hear from the lady that received the POSH quilt all week. I was sure that her hubby didn't give it to her and it was sitting in the back of his truck all week. I wondered about it for a couple of days and then I let it go. I knew it had all come together in God's timing and He was still in control. On Sunday, during the Sunday school opening, the woman came up and gave me a big hug and with tears in her eyes thanked me for the quilt. She said she cried her eyes out when she read the note I had enclosed with it and she tried to call but each time she picked up the phone she would start crying. She knew that she wanted to talk to me and not send an email so she decided to just wait. All is good. Praise the Lord!

Praise - Since Thursday the 6th, three babies have been born into our church family!! Two first time parents.

Prayers - for the babies and parents to make the big adjustment,for the parents to rely on the Lord for wisdom and knowledge and patience. Also for the two ladies that are due within the next 4 weeks.

4/19 April Tag & a little sewing

This month Joan is asking a few questions about our magazine preferences for the Charming Girls Quilt Club April Tag.

1.which magazines do I prefer???
Here are just a few from my collection;

Funny how those I chose were all in the orange/yellow colorway and then my lighting didn't help matters much. I don't subscribe to the magazines because I like to look through them first to see if there is anything I would make. If I were to subscribe to one it would be the Quilts and More most likely.

2. have I made any projects from the magazines?
3. would I show them?
College girl saw this quilt while I was flipping through the magazine and fell in love with it.


So I made it with almost the exact same fabrics. This was her freshman year of college quilt;


Then I made a purse following these directions;

College girl picked the fabrics out for this one. She likes it but really prefers a bigger bag.


Another bag that I made;


I made this for an auction. The checkbook cover was made using a tutorial found at Crazymomquilts(did you hear she is coming back???!!)


Finally, I did get a little sewing done this evening - very little.

The binding for the Blush table runner. I need to finish getting the POSH binding glued to the back of the quilt so that I can get to stitching that at home and I need to get the Blush binding attached so that I can take that with me on Friday. Possibly the Verna quilt will go along with me as well.

I vacuumed my sewing room today which has to be done with the hose attachment because there was SO much thread on the floor it would just get tangled in the beater brush. Well it looked so good when I was finished that I decided to clean off my sewing tables as well as my cutting table. They were quite the mess and it took me a couple of hours but it looks so much better now. I just smile every time I walk into the room. I kind of don't want to mess it up by sewing!! That won't last long though. :) Hubby walked in, noticed right away and was surprised. I had to have my son take a look around and be more observant, he then asked when I was going to clean off the scrapbooking side of the room. **rolling my eyes**

The giveaway post is getting lots of comments! Don't forget if you want to enter the giveaway you need to comment on THIS post (and follow the rules so you can get three entries!).

Praise - the septic tanks were pumped and passed inspection! One more thing checked off the list!

Prayers - that my son would stay on task and finish his Biology course this week.

200th Post - GIVEAWAY!

I really did not think this far ahead when I first started this blog. 100 posts was too much to even think about at that time and now here I am at 200. Mind boggling. It's been fun for me to have this blog and to meet so many other bloggin' friends. I look forward to the next 100 posts, however long that might take. Thanks for joining me.

I need to give a BIG thanks to Des and Corrie of Quilt Taffy, for their encouragement in starting this blog, for their friendship (I really believe we are long lost sisters) and cheerleading and for teaching me about giveaways! THANKS!!!

First off I do need to report on my sewing for the day. After a great day at church and a yummy lunch bought from the podunk country store on the way home I was energized and ready to sew. Of course I had to check in on all my bloggin' friends first. But then I got busy. All went smoothly in the construction of this bag;

Again, this is The Practical Bag pattern by Tanya Whelan's Grand Revival Patterns done in the lovely VERNA by Kate Spain and Moda. College girl bought this fabric and asked me to make the bag so she can give it to her BFF. I'll be taking this to the big city with me on Friday.

As I mentioned before I had planned on a giveaway at 100 posts but it just slipped by so now I will be giving away TWO goodies!! The first name drawn will get first pick of the charm packs and the second name drawn will get the remaining charm pack. I hope you like the choices;


(Charm pack images from the Moda site)
I'm afraid that I will have trouble parting with them! Might have to get one of each for myself.

So the rules of the Giveaway;

1)Leave a comment on THIS POST for one entry. You must have an email contact (either through a direct link in your comment or an email address that you type into the contact)

2)Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment on THIS POST telling me that you did so. If you are already a follower - THANK YOU! but you will still have to leave me a comment telling me that you already follow. This will earn you an entry.

3)Post an entry on your blog about MY blog and giveaway. Post a comment, with a link to your blog post, telling me that you did so on THIS POST. You will earn an entry for this.

You can do any one, any two, or all three. I will draw the winners when I return from the big city and have a chance to tabulate the entries. Posts will close the night of Monday the 26th and the drawing done by Wednesday the 28th. Bear with me, I hope this all makes sense. It is supposed to be fun!



Praises - 200 posts! I think that is praise worthy! I've 'met' so many fun and talented people and learned so much from them. Hubby found the corner marker!!!!

Prayers - I feel as though it will be a short week with me leaving on Friday and I need to get my work done, get my bindings ready, pack and then all the 'normal stuff'.

Back in the good ol' days

Okay, now I KNOW some of these zippers are old. Look at the price tag on this one;

Gemco. Anyone heard of Gemco? I'm going to guess that Des and Corrie have. Gemco was a membership store in southern CA in the 70's. See what a nice discount they gave me? The zipper was .45 to begin with but at GEMCO you only had to pay .36. Plus tax. Of course. THIRTY SIX cents for a zipper! I am pretty sure that you can't buy zippers for .36 now. Well maybe at the second hand store.


Even more unbelievable than a thirty six cent zipper...are you sitting down??


I USED IT!! uh huh, I installed a zipper! This was such a big deal that I had a 'reveal' for my hubby and son. I told my son he might want to sit down ahead of time. I mean to tell you, that boy is almost 6'7" and that is a lot of boy to fall over and I didn't want that on my hands. Let's just say they were impressed. VERY impressed.

Following are many pictures of said zipper, for your viewing pleasure. Please enjoy.


'borrowed' hubby's credit cards for this picture ;)

I can hardly wait to see what college girl has to say about this!

Finally, the outside view. Sadly you can't see the zipper from here. This is to go with my new purse. Verna fabric by Kate Spain for Moda and some Amy Butler Lotus Dots.


KOIN KEEPER pattern by This & That. Instructions were easy to follow. Hardest part of the entire wallet was turning it right side out. Yes, that was harder than installing the zipper. I will be making more of these (have you SEEN the pile of zippers that I have???).

Praise - for the Godly men of our church and their willingness to lead.

Prayers - for those same men, for their faith and commitment to the Lord to stay strong.

A Pressing matter

I finally got around to covering and using this so I thought I would show you. I guess it was about a year ago that I was in a JoAnn's fabric in a town in the middle of nowhere. My hubby and son were waiting in the car while I shopped but then my son came in to look for some foam. When he found me I was standing and looking at a sleeve ironing board and clutching my 40% off coupon. He asked me what I wanted that for and I explained that so many times, when sewing purses or other smaller items the full size board doesn't work. He looked over the sleeve board and declared that he could make one of those for me. SWEET! I could use the 40% off coupon for something else! He borrowed a measuring tape from the store cutting table and took measurements and wrote them down. Not long after we got home he went to work and made the board for me. Then it sat. For a very long time. He even brought the staple gun in from the shop so that I could cover it with fabric. I got some Insul-Bright to cover it with and there it sat. Well for some reason, TODAY was the day to cover the board and properly use it (I had used it a few times without any sort of cover on it).



I covered it with some chambray fabric I had on hand. I know so many of you cover your boards with a designer print but I just can't bring myself to 'waste' that much pretty fabric on something like a board cover. I got it covered AND I even used it today!! I can't wait to show my son.

This is what I was using the board for;


Two different views because the lighting was different and I think the pleats showed up better in one.

A purse for ME! It is the first purse that I have made for myself (which is kind of pathetic if you knew how many purses I have made). Fabrics - VERNA by Kate Spain for Moda. Pattern - The Chemisette Handbag by Craft Apple. Liked the pattern,instructions were straightforward. I did think the bag was going to be bigger from the photo on the pattern cover but I actually prefer the size it is to what I thought it would be. I would move the magnetic clasp down a bit next time so that I could top stitch along the front and back edges (tried twice and un-stitched it and gave up) and I would probably make the handles a bit longer. This is my first finish for March. WOO HOO!!

Praise - for a little baby girl that joined our church family last night, Lydia.

Prayers - for the family with the new baby, that mom would be feeling herself again soon and that they all make the adjustments needed to welcome the little bundle of pink into their family.

March Projects TO DO

These are the projects that I want to get done this month. The first one MUST get done this month. Joining in with the


just makes it a bit easier.
This is the one I MUST get done - a costume for the Easter production at church. I am making a long robe/gown out of the black and a vest (mid-thigh length) out of the gold. This is for a gentleman who will be playing the part of a judge.


This is for a small quilt, like seen on Kate Spain's blog. I am hoping to give it to my mother-in-law to use as a lap quilt.


Finally - the Chemisette Handbag by Craft Apple in some Verna fabrics. I got this all cut out last month but then realized I didn't have any fusible interfacing on hand. Have that now and would like to get this finished. A purse for ME!


Praise - one of the many counteroffers has been accepted!!!

Prayers - for all of the ducks to be lined up to make the house sale actually happen. Closing date should be April 13th.

Friday Night Sew-In SUCCESS!

I made the purse, the entire thing! Yeah for -



I'm going to bed now. I'll update this post in the daylight with a picture of the finished product.

Thanks, Heidi!

**UPDATE with photos! **


I used Tanya Whelan's Grand Revival Practical Bag Pattern. I hope college girl likes it!

I wish that I could join in the Charming Guys & Girls Quilt Club sewing day next Saturday but I'll be at the women's retreat. Hopefully I will be available for the next one.

Praise - for fun blogging friends and events that push me to sew.

Prayers - for the men who will be attending the church's work day. That they are safe and have a good time of fellowship.

Friday Night Sew-In begins!

I am just getting started here. Washed and ironed a few of my Verna fabrics and I'm going to make a couple of purses. I'm going to start out tonight using this print.


I might not get any further than the one bag tonight but that's okay. I'm just glad to be sewing. Have fun everyone!!

Praise - we got an offer on our house/property!!!

Prayers - for the whole offer/counteroffer process and for hubby who is handling the bulk of it all. That the sale goes through.

February Friday Night Sew-In

I hope to be sewing with over 100 others at Handmade by Heidi this Friday night.


I am not positive what I will be working on quite yet but I have a few choices;
*something using VERNA by Kate Spain - LOVE THIS! I could make a purse, or a baby quilt or a larger quilt.

*one of the baby boy quilts I want to make - either using ALL STAR or WHEELS, both by Riley Blake.

*a tablerunner using some Arcadia scraps I have.

*a string block - I've never tried one but I want to.

Praises - college girl had safe travels to and from Chicago and had a great time there, even though it was REALLY cold. That hubby and son's vball team WON all of their games tonight!

Prayers - for the couple looking at our property and that we would know what we need to know if they do make an offer.

Swine Flu roots discovered!

I can see how this was clearly the beginning of the Swine Flu outbreak and panic. This innocent child had no idea what was put into motion after this simple act of love. Does anyone else find it hilarious that the parent grabbed the camera instead of the child??? Must not have been a first child. Gives me shivvers just to look at it. My sister may have to cancel her vacation to Mexico in a few weeks and if that is the case this child may want to go into hiding. Just sayin'.


Did anyone else think that The Wizard of Oz was one scary, freaky movie?? No?? Well it was really just those MONKEYS! Hubby and I both thought that it was a scary movie to see as children and so we didn't let our kids watch it when they were little. Well then they weren't so little anymore but it was kind of a family joke at that point so they still did not watch it until they were both in high school, I think. Of course they did NOT think it was scary in the least and rolled their eyes at us even when the monkeys were doing their thing. They've lived a sheltered life, what do they know about scary anyway? Besides the house falling on the Wicked Witch of the East, and Glinda's entrances and exits, my favorite part of the movie was when the Wicked Witch of the West rides her broom over the Emerald City and writes SURRENDER DOROTHY. When I saw this fabric:

I knew that I had to do SOMETHING with it. I saw it online but when I ordered it they informed me it was out of stock. I had them give me this print instead;

Today I went to the local craft store and they had the Surrender Dorothy fabric! WOO HOO! I got a fat quarter. I THINK I am going to make a small purse for my sister. I'm not even sure if she will carry it. Her family gave her a license plate frame that says 'My other car is a broom' ! Nice gift huh?? I have a picture of her riding a broom around my property in her pajamas. I thought she just might carry a little purse that says Surrender Dorothy on it. I'm going to use the Ruby Slippers as lining. My other option is a half apron. Hmmmmm, maybe she would get more use out of that.

* * * * * *

I sure hope I didn't shock anyone by posting three days in a row. No harm meant.

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Praise-the guys had a safe time unloading the trailer although they were gone way longer than they anticipated.

Prayers - I have nursery duty tomorrow. 'nuff said.

Thought I'd better get this going

February is MORE than half over now and I have not even announced which pattern I will be doing for the month. I had a busy first half of the month. Getting ready for Valentine's Day (I'll show you my pictures from that later) and for my house full of guests. So since time is ticking I picked what I think and hope will be a fairly easy project. Another bag from Tanya Whelan's Grand Revival Patterns, the Flea Market Bag.

I have no idea yet which fabrics I will use. I hope to choose them this afternoon and get working on it right away.

******************

College girl loved the Ava Bag done in the Taxi fabric so she is the recipient of that. She was home for the weekend and took it back to school with her.

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Although I have challenged myself to these 12 patterns for the year I have already bought two more purse patterns and there is another one (at least) that I want. Now it is all I can do to stick to the patterns chosen for the challenge because I want to make those other purses too!! I guess I just need to get busy and actually sew.

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Praise - my friends, two families of 5, came over for the long weekend and they were able to bring my college girl with them! What a blessing that was, for all of us. They had safe travel both ways!

*

Prayers - hubby starts a new job today. College girl has a very hectic two weeks - tests, papers due, a big project. My son is busy with his schoolwork as well.

January Challenge - Completed

So my calendar says it is the 6th of February and I am finally getting around to showing you my finished January Challenge. If you don't remember, this is what I chose for January;

The pattern is by Tanya Whelan of Grand Revival Designs. What was the hold up for me on this? The handsewing! I do not like handsewing. That is saying it nicely. Had I read the pattern more thoroughly I would have chosen the view shown bottom left - no handsewing required. I chose the main photo and bottom right. Hand sewing required. Argh.

Here is the completed AVA Bag, done up with Timeless Treasures Taxi fabric on the outside and a stash fabric of yellow with black dots. The other Timeless Treasures Taxi fabric that I wanted for the reverse side of the purse was sold out at the local fabric store and it is hard to find online.

The purse is intended to be reversible. I don't know that I would reverse this particular purse. The fabric is not very forgiving when showing my stitching, done in black thread, along the handles. The OTHER Timeless Treasures Taxi fabric would have been better for hiding any imperfections.

The thing about a reversible bag though - I can never decide which fabric I would want on the outside and then I think the inside usually gets dirty from ink and lipstick and so on, would I even want to reverse it?

My review of the pattern - Well the hand stitching aside because the next time I would probably choose the other view, this was a fairly easy pattern to follow. The way the handles and center/top purse trim are done (on the view I made) is different from anything I have done on a purse before. The directions were clear though. I did try to jump ahead of the game at one point and had to cut out new facing pieces because I trimmed them incorrectly. If I had just followed the directions as written I would have saved myself some time and fabric. Sewing the handles on, through all layers was a teeny bit frustrating, not knowing if I was catching the other side and wondering how it was going to look. Like I said, the fabric pattern choice is not very forgiving on that side. It isn't HORRIBLE, but it does not look as nice as the front side does. The hand stitching needs to be done FOUR times on this view!! At the side seams, inside and out, to join the handle/trims. I would make this purse again. I would make the other view first and then when making this view again I would give more thought to my fabric choices. Good job, Tanya! Thanks for the cute purse pattern!

Finished size - 12" to the top of the handles x 11.5" wide.

* * *

P.S. I have NO idea what I am going to do with this purse. I never ever wear yellow. I just love that fabric though. I was hoping to have it done for Super Bowl Sunday and show off my Steelers colors. That is a BIG joke because I dislike football and all things football-y. :D

* * *

Prayers - Continuing to pray for College Girl. She is burning the candles at both ends to get some projects done. She is never one to let one thing slide to get another thing done. I pray she stays healthy through all of this. Praise - it is SNOWING again today!!! It started sometime during the night and it is still snowing at 11 a.m.

Two WEEKS??

How could I have gone TWO WEEKS without updating my blog? Sorry. I HAVE been busy though. Unfortunately it has not been at my sewing machine. Well I did sew one purse. An exact replica of the pink and brown purse that I made for my daughter. Other than that, I have been packing, deciding what to pack, what not to pack, throw it out, give it away.

This is a picture of the family room a few days ago. There are three times as many boxes in there now. Most of them are filled with books, some are filled with videos, others are packed with photos.

My sister who lives 6 hours from here decided to come for the weekend and help me pack. She drove over all alone - which is really unlike her and we packed. We worked on the kitchen, the laundry room and my daughter's room. Here is a picture of the entryway when we had done SOME of the kitchen.

There are MANY more boxes now. My sister took some things home with her and she helped me let some other stuff go. There is a trailer in the garage that we are filling with trash and giveaway stuff. It seems there is soooooooo much more to do.

My sewing room. Should I save that until last so that I can sew until the last minute? My son thinks I should pack it up now, along with my computer then I can't do anything BUT pack. Silly boy.

I am off to cut out an apron. I might get to sew sometime today. We shall see.

QUILT SHOW this weekend!! WOO HOOO!!

Praise - that my sister was willing and able to drive over here to help and that she had a safe trip here and back. Prayers - that my daughter would find her groove at school. She doesn't 'love it'.

Why I've been MIA - UPS a no show, a rabid bat, lightning strikes

So I thought I would take a day to get some things done, and another day to drive my quilt to the longarm quilter and do some window shopping and sew that purse. Little did I know that I would be away for so long.

My machine was scheduled to arrive Friday. It didn't. You would think it would be here for sure on Monday then right?? It didn't arrive Monday. So SURELY Tuesday. Nope. Not Tuesday either. Nice, huh? I didn't think so either. I am of the frame of mind now that when it shows up it will be a big surprise. I am no longer holding my breath.

I did sew that purse for my daughter Thursday evening. I can't believe that we haven't taken a picture of it though. I will try to get one tomorrow and get it posted.

Friday - after the huge disappointment of the machine not arriving, hubby and son head out for a two night backpacking trip. This was going to be my 'free' weekend to enjoy that new machine. Phooey. Remember - God laughs when we make plans. Received a phone call Friday evening informing me that a bat that was discovered on a gal at the church campout last weekend was rabid. NICE! My daughter was in that group of people. There was some mild hysteria and lots of confusion about the need for the rabies vaccine. HOURS spent on the phone with numerous different people about this. Then sometime around 10 p.m. it started to lightning, off in the distance. To the west. It got closer and closer. We turned off the computers. During one phone call I told the person that I HAD to hang up as the lightning was all around the house and being on the phone was not smart. I thought I had heard that somewhere. When I hung up the house phone my daughter's cell phone rang. I told my friend the situation and she said well at least get away from the windows. Uhhhhhhhhh, she has seen my house. That doesn't leave a whole lot of area to go to. My daughter and I stayed on the cell phone (no idea if this is safe) and went to the stairwell leading to the basement. The lightning was all around us and right on top of us. Front yard, back yard, driveway side and kitchen side. It was the most incredible lightning and thunder storm that I have ever witnessed. While talking to my friend about the rabid bat situation there was a very loud and bright explosion. My daughter screamed, I dropped the phone and my friend could be heard yelling for us. We have no idea what happened really. Did something explode? Was the house hit by lightning? Was it a power surge or a power outage? Now there was an insanely loud, repetitive ticking coming from the t.v. room. I was sure the t.v. was going to blow up or something. My daughter was shaking like a leaf. My friend's hubby got on the phone and instructed me on how to turn the power off to the room with the loud ticking. Whew!
We spent the next 40 minutes or so huddled on the stairs, clutching our flashlights (just in case) and taking phone calls (yeah, STILL!). Finally the storm moved on. NOW we started praying fervently for the backpacking group that was in the mountains to the east of us, where the storm was headed. We had NO WAY to contact them to tell them what was coming. I am not sure it would have helped anyway.

At this point, my daughter and I discover that half of the house is without power and our landline does not work. None of the three bathrooms had electricity. My son's bedroom, the living room and my bedroom had no power. My alarm clock was buzzing loudly. I unplugged it. The buzzing didn't stop. That was just a little too weird. My daughter's alarm clock was all messed up too, displaying parts of numbers. We finally got to bed but it took a long time to fall asleep. I watched the lightning for a long time, off in the distance, and prayed for the backpackers. I woke at 3 a.m. because the dog was barking. Someone was driving up the driveway. At first I thought it was hubby and son but then I realized they would not have hiked down in the dark, it would have been too dangerous. Strangely enough, having someone turn their vehicle and light up my front yard was the least nerve wracking thing that had happened all day. I assumed and hoped it was the power company, although I had never seen them stop at the house like that before. They usually have to drive on past the house to access the power lines.

7 a.m. Saturday arrived way too soon for me. My daughter and I had agreed to head to the hospital about 1.5 hours away to see about the rabies vaccine and what they thought of her requiring it. Or not. But first we had to spend 2 hours on the phone. Lots of confusion again about the bat incident and false information. The worst part was not being able to talk to hubby about all of this. The power situation is the same as when we went to bed and a phone call to the power company gives me no information. It was them at 3 a.m. Now we see the microwave and the trash compactor don't work either. Although the computers work we have no internet connection. I have no idea if the dish got hit, if it was their antennae on the mountain or if it is an equipment problem. Really though, it is the least of my worries right now.

The long trip to the hospital, hours in the ER, no vaccine required, a stop for Orange Chicken and Fried Rice at Panda Express (mmmmmmmmmmm) and the long trip home. With no internet, no t.v. (Olympics) and no sewing on an old or new machine, my daughter and I decided to head to bed. It was 8:30! But we were beat and slept pretty good that night.

Sunday morning it was just like a college dorm as my daughter and I were both blow drying and curling our hair and applying make-up in her room. My alarm clock was still buzzing and yes, it was still unplugged. I had the inkling to check the circuit box before we left for church and saw that some of the breakers were tripped so that was PART of the power problem. Easily fixed. No idea why I didn't check that out sooner but really, electricity is not my thing. Church was great. A time for fellowship and worship and some great teaching. Just what we needed. The guys got home about 4 p.m. and then we had to relay the entire story of our weekend to them. Then they got to tell us about their trip. They had a little bit of rain and no lightning right on top of them. An answer to many prayers. Hubby started working on the electrical problems.

Monday hubby stayed home to deal with the power mess and I took the kids shopping. For college textbooks and clothes and new phones. Yup, all of our phones were fried. Hubby called us while we were on the road and said the phone company had come and that was the verdict. He has installed the new phones and says there is STILL a problem. One computer was fried. My computer speakers were fried but my sound card was okay. Hubby's sound card is fried but his speakers are fine. The microwave and trash compactor were fine after all, just needed the GFI to be reset on their outlets. A receiver used with the t.v./stereo is toast. The loud ticking you ask?? It was from the massage chair!!! Toast. At bedtime Monday we still had no internet connection.

Tuesday - the internet provider showed up and replaced some equipment. We have a connection again, although it is sketchy for some reason. It may be that some cables need to be replaced. UPS showed up but brought a teeny box that I don't think anyone retrieved from the back door. Hubby opened up my alarm clock and took out the battery. It stopped buzzing. He has a collection on the floor of his office of all the things that need replacing. I should take a picture of it.

It is probaby a blessing that my sewing machine didn't come on Friday. I either would not have gotten to it because of the rabid bat incident OR I would have had it all plugged in and it would have been fried too. So ya see, I wasn't just loafing around and not blogging. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Praises - Although my hubby was not available this weekend my brother-in-law was. He is a doctor and speaks to me in words I understand, he is calming, he is logical and he is wise. He and my sister-in-law have been on the other end of the phone with us during many medical emergencies and we sooooo appreciate that. God saw us through this wild and wacky weekend. All of us. He sees us through every weekend but this one was especially tough and there were times I was really wondering how it was all going to end up. To God be the glory!

and the Winner is.....

This is what I TRULY wanted. I only know about them from other quilters, from reviews I have read online and from the comments and emails I received from you. It should be here Friday. I am SOOOOOOO excited! Do I need to take a class to sew on it? Can I figure things out on my own?? I do know two gals from church that have this machine so I guess if I get bogged down I could give them a call. I have heard that the manual is very detailed. I think I will just GO FOR IT! Did I mention how excited I am??? :D

Not much going on around here to report. The Lakeside Charm quilt is all set to go to the longarm quilter. I made the binding after getting a call back from the quilter. I stitched the backing together and trimmed it down and I bought the batting. All stacked up nice and neat and ready to go. Hmmmm, I WAS going to do that on Friday. Well maybe if I take care of that Friday morning I won't wear away the carpet by the door waiting for UPS. He never comes until afternoon. OH! I just remembered, hubby is going to UPS bright and early to get a backpack he is expecting and then heading out on a two night backpacking trip. I wonder if the machine would be there at the same time!! OH. MY.

I have the pattern all traced and cut out for an Amy Butler purse for my daughter. I thought she wanted the smaller bag but it looked SO small so I had to wait for her input before I cut anything out. She wants the smaller bag. Off I go to my sewing room. Maybe I will have a picture to share soon. I have this issue...do I sew on this OLD machine or do I wait for the NEW one to arrive. I know. Kinda weird. I recognize that.

Prayers for a lady that lost her husband in a motorcycle accident yesterday. I don't know her, but she is friends of some friends. My hubby and daughter saw the aftermath of the accident on their way home yesterday. Life is so fragile and you just never know the time or the place.

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.