Before the month of LOVE is gone

I thought I'd better get these Valentine photos blogged. LOTS OF PICTURES DES!!! :D Des likes lots of pictures.

So I had two families of 5 (our very dear friends) coming to visit for Valentine's weekend (also known as President's Weekend) and my college girl was hitching a ride home with one of the families! Now I always make frosted sugar cookies for Vday for my family, and it is the one time that I don't let the kids help me with the process. It is my Valentine to them. I usually wait until they are in bed to bake and decorate the cookies. Side note - This gets harder to do as they get older and stay up later. Some of the guests were to arrive on Thursday. I needed to get my act in gear since everything had to be done and put out of sight before they arrived.

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This is what I made. A LOT of cookies. More than I usually make. The cutting out and baking is the easy part. I also made a big batch of cake balls on a stick and got those in the freezer.

Oh yeah....did I mention that I was trying to make the Happy Zombie's Pennie Pockets for everyone? Yeah, call me crazy. These are 'supposed' to be embellished and bejeweled. I tried to make a yo-yo and it was more like OY-OY! I knew that was going to be TOO time consuming and I should have started in October. I gave up that dream and just got them all sewn up. I had a few different prints but the other picture did not turn out. I filled these with foil wrapped candies and conversation hearts and hung them on each chair.

I got a reprieve.

The guests that were to arrive on Thursday had a change of plans and would not arrive until Friday. Whew! More time to frost the cookies. (should read - more time to procrastinate on the frosting of the cookies). My plan all along was to use decorating tips and frost each name on a cookie. That did NOT happen. Each person did get a LARGE cookie on a doily, on a plate at their place for breakfast.

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Now if I had started back in AUGUST, I could have made a cute table runner, but I did not. I used my new, clearanced after Christmas at WM, RED place mats and called it good.

I needed two tables so I called this one the kid's table, although there were kids at the 'red' table as well. I see I should have ironed that tablecloth!

Now mind you, ALL of this was set up and set out AFTER my guests had all arrived (some at 11:30pm) and they had all gone to bed! Oh yeah, that was at about 1:30 A.M.! I was going back and forth as quietly as I could, dining room to the garage, as I had the cookies in a big tin in the garage, the cake balls in an ice chest in the garage and the pennie pockets in a box in my closet. I put window cling hearts on the dining room windows too.

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Here is a close-up of the cake ball bouquets. I wish I would have had some shredded, crinkled red paper to fill in at the base of these, but I didn't.

Edited to add link to cake ball recipe/directions. Hey, if you get lost on this site, don't blame ME!

Bakerella is so creative and talented. Go see for yourself.

As I slipped into bed about 2:30 (after I took pictures!), I prayed that neither guest family would let their dog out of their room during the night. That would have made me cry.

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Everyone was so surprised in the morning that the Valentine fairy had visited during the night. I got lots of hugs and kisses and requests for yearly Valentine Day visits. :D

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Prayers - for a friend's mother who is not doing well at all. The family has been gathered around her and are wondering how long they have with her.

Praise - College girl has made it through an especially stresssful week and has registered for the new quarter, getting all the classes that she NEEDS. My son is doing well in school, staying on top of things. Hubby is enjoying his new adventure.

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.

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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!

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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.

Is this what you had in mind?

Yeah, I'm talking to you, Des. Is this what you pictured me wearing??

I am not so sure it will work if I am wearing it but maybe if I get shirts for everyone around me to wear. I will see that message over and over. I will read it. I will start to believe it!

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No. I don't think it will work either.

I am sticking with this shirt.

It says it all.

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Prayers for my son this afternoon. He went snowboarding alone. Well sure there will be other people on the mountain but... Prayers also in regards to the family that looked at our house the other day. They are meeting with the realtor again at 2:30 today. Do they want to make an offer? See the property again?

Praise - crews are working hard in America's heartland to restore power to many many homes and business!

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.

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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

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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.

I've been lost in the WAY BACK MACHINE!

What is it with the nostalgia lately??? First of all, someone posed the question - "what music do you listen to while working out?". I started listing my favorites, most of which are from the 70's! I know very little NEW music unless my kids share some tune with me. I like the old songs that I know the words to AND they conjure up a memory or two. Then the very same day Des was creating a 70's romance Playlist to save herself some money. With the exception of 'Brandy' we were pretty much in agreement over the songs chosen and the memories they had attached with them.

I don't know what prompted the dinner conversation the other night but I was sharing with my son about when I was in junior and senior high, calling in to radio stations for their contests. Using a ROTARY PHONE! Now that takes some talent I tell you! I even won a few times too. My very best prize;

(although it should read DisneyLAND not world)


Oh yeah, that was a GRAND prize! My favorite place to go! Do you know who I chose to go with me?? My sister who also loves Disneyland. See, here is proof that we've been loving that place for a long time;

(circa 1960)


Don't you just LOVE how we were dressed for a day at Disneyland?? Just the way things were done back then. That is me on the left :D

We still INSIST that a day at Disneyland is not complete without a ride on Dumbo. Even though the lines are crazy long now. Some things are just worth the wait.


I found this picture online (http://www.davelandweb.com/) - a nice site if you have hours to waste looking at old Disneyland pictures. I miss those Sky Buckets and look at the Tea Cups! Oh I love me some Disneyland.

Oh, back to the Valentine's Day Party at Disneyland! Ya see how I get when I am in the Way Back Machine?? So my dad dropped the two of us off at the park. A couple of high school girls. I remember spending a good portion of the night ditching a pair of young Marines (in uniform no less). Now many, many years later my sister is married to an ex-Marine who was stationed at Camp Pendleton many years ago. I like to tell her that he must have been one of the guys at Disneyland that night. ;)

I don't know why I never applied for a job at the Happiest Place on Earth. It would have been perfect for me! I still think I should. I mean they have OLD LADIES working in the Crystal Shop! They do! I've seen them! The commute would kill me but what a way to go...working at Disneyland.

This is what I REALLY aspired to;

***********the cream of the crop***********

I was only intrested in the uniform style with the knee socks.

I think I have the Disneyland knowledge for the job - just ask Des. ;)

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So besides spending too much time in the Way Back Machine, I have been doing some sewing too. I finished my January Challenge. I finished it on the 3rd of February. :( I will post pictures tomorrow along with a review. I guess I need to decide what my February Challenge is going to be. I have guests coming for President's Weekend (and they are bringing my college girl with them!!!!) AND this is a short month. All things to consider when choosing my project for this month. I do have something else in the works right now but I can't reveal ANY of it at this time.

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Prayers - college girl's schedule is jam packed this week. She has been shorting herself sleep so that she can fit everything in. Prayers that she would get some sleep this weekend but still get her homework done. She totally stresses herself out otherwise. Praise - someone came to look at the house we have on the market! They seem interested. So that is also a prayer request.

I'm going to challenge myself

So as I was wasting time, procrastinating, putting off doing anything productive and oh yeah, catching up on my blog reading I came across THIS challenge over at Oil Cloth Junkie's Blog. Boy oh boy could I relate, I love me some patterns! When the fabric stores have Simplicity, McCall's, and Butterick patterns on sale for 99 cents or even 1.99 I feel it makes sense to buy some. Sometimes I can even reach the limit. But then I also like other kinds of patterns, the kind that don't go on sale very often. The challenge - USE some of these patterns! So I have chosen 13 patterns. I will choose ONE pattern each month and make that item in a month's time. I have 13 so I can have an alternate if one of them is just not speaking to me. ;)

Sorry for the lousy pictures. Bad lighting and it looks like I took an aerial view from the Goodyear Blimp. But hey, can you believe I took the pictures today AND they are now up on my blog...same day! I know, so very exciting. Not as exciting as an impromptu trip to Disneyland but it is the best I can do.

the first 6 patterns;


Stacked Coins by Pieced Tree Patterns - for a charm pack friendly table runner. I have admired stacked coin quilts online and I thought this would be a small investment in time and material to see if I like the process.

the emmeline apron by montessori by hand - cute apron AND reversible!

Strip-Ease by Threaded Pear - I even have the fabric for this (and right now I have no idea which line it is - Ava Rose? Pop Garden? Seriously I have no clue).

Simplicity #3949 - a classic apron style with some variations.

Hip Skirts by Favorite Things - I have made a couple of skirts for college girl using another one of their patterns and liked it so I bought this one.

Covington Bag by Amy Butler - this is hard to come by and I found this at a teeeeeny fabric store I visited this summer when I was at the quilt show. I was thrilled and even more so when I saw the price marked down to $3 from $12.95. Something tells me it was marked down again though to 99 cents. but that sticker is not on the pattern so maybe I am dreaming that part.

Here is the second lousy picture of the other 7 pattern picks;


Short Stack Apron by The Paisley Pincushion - I have almost all of her patterns and I really like those I have made (yeah so there could be others on this list). I did have difficulty with one of them but I emailed her and asked for clarification. She answered quickly and sent photos via email to go along with her explanation! Try doing that with Simplicity or McCall's!

New Look #6841 - I love these bags! The grey one on the top left is going to be RED - yes I already have the fabric. It is a faux silk. I wish I could have found that same grey, maybe someday. I also love the white one the model is holding but I am going to use some Joel Dewberry Ginseng fabric for that I think.

Simple Charm by Thimble Blossoms - I am going to make this pretty much like the pattern cover, although I might not use the blues. This is a table topper and I might part with it and give it as a gift. I love Cotton Blossoms fabric (have two quilts to make using it!).

Flea Market Bag A Grand Revival Pattern - a simple ( I hope) slouch/messenger style bag. It has a few variations. I have some batik that I am thinking of using for this.

Ava Bag A Grand Revival Pattern - Says it is easy AND reversible!! I imagine all sorts of fabric combinations for this always wondering how I would decide which fabric would be in and which would be out.

Just Can't Cut It by All Washed Up - I have seen this made up most recently over here. Seeing that young man make this up encouraged me to add it to the challenge. Maybe if I just send him the fabric...

Market Bags by Portabellopixie - my favorite of the two variations is the gathered market bag. I am not sure which fabric to use for this yet.


So there you have the line-up. This will be sewing in addition to my other projects. I have other quilts and aprons and purses that I want to make. This really will be a challenge for me.

Since I am starting this challenge when January is more than half over I need to go with something I think might be fairly simple. Well at least compared to a quilt!

This is my pick for January:


I sure do hope that all of my other unused patterns don't feel bad.


Praise - that my college girl was able to spend time at my sister's house this weekend. Not quite the same as being home but at least they are related. I know she felt loved while she was there. She worked on a project for school, went out to eat, watched a couple of movies and went ice skating.
Prayers for all of those involved in the inauguration, especially those in law enforcement and security. My friend's hubby is working very long hours and people are taking their crowd control frustrations out on the men and women in blue.

A few new projects

Oh the list is long don't you know. Projects to do, for myself and for others. Mostly for others. I finished up the set of aprons from the Marcus Al Fresco fabric and sent those off to the recipient. Yes I took pictures but they are still on the camera. Now I am working on a duvet cover for my son. Not a quilt. :( I think he figured a quilt would take me way too long so he opted for a duvet cover. I am measuring twice or three times and then cutting once. It makes me nervous sometimes cutting BIG pieces of fabric. I just cut the second piece and I am second guessing my cut, so I had to take a break away from it.

Boys - they are just wired so differently! I had in mind what I might use for a quilt for my son someday. Huh, I was wayyyyyy off! Everything I showed him was turned down. Then we started looking at images online, together. In contrast to his sister who would have trouble narrowing it down, he had trouble finding something he really liked. We finally found an abstract image - circles in various colors. I got some Kona Cotton one of the colors for borders and backing. When the print fabric arrived we were BOTH disappointed. The images shown were sooo much larger online than in person. Now granted the image did not have a ruler next to it but I was familiar with other fabrics on the site and knew how the scale was with those. We figured all of these circles were going to be MUCH larger than they actually are. I was really bummed that we went through all of that and then he still did not get what he really wanted. He says he is fine with it though. He is more easy going about things like that than I am. My son has been so anxious for me to get to work on this though, asking me constantly if I was done with the aprons that I told him HAD to be done first.

I am thinking I can really make some headway with the duvet cover tomorrow. I am going to the gym first thing and then to get some matching thread and some buttons. I would be really excited if I could actually start and finish it tomorrow. My reasons - #1 to shock my son and #2 so that I can scrapbook the rest of the weekend!

Since I don't want to post without pictures (so Des will be able to follow along) I will show you what came in the mail yesterday. Two pieces from Michael Miller's new Tattoo Parlour line. Someone who just loves tattoos wants an apron and I might make a purse/tote bag as well.
Isn't it pretty???

Okay, off to bed so that I can get up early and get to the gym. I skipped the gym today. The workout that I got on Monday and Tuesday about killed me. I was so sore last night it was difficult to fall asleep.

Prayers - for my son as he has started his second semester of college classes, that he would maintain good study habits and a good attitude towards his classes. For my college girl and her 2nd quarter of classes and specifically her prayer project. Praise God for the opportunities He has given to my children to attend college.