Last Chance

This is not just a picture. It's an embroidery design. That's right, I stitched it out on my Janome 11000. I just love that machine and the things it can do. This design took roughly 48 minutes and used 3 thread changes. As most of you know, I am still in the learning mode when it comes to stabilizers (I used the tear away on this project), tension, spray glues, etc. And as I learn and grow, I have developed quite a collection of embroidery samples.

That said, this little windmill (or one just like it) measuring 3.5" X 7" approx. & is unfinished meaning not in a frame, is my last give-away of the 20008 year. To win it, just leave a comment & your e-mail address so that I can contact you and your name will go in the hat. The drawing will happen January 3, 2009.

Was that clear or just plain confusing?

What I Remember of 2008

2008 is almost over. For me, it was a very eventful year. If you're interested in reading what I remember, fix yourself a cup of your favorite hot drink or cold, grab a comfy seat and let's get started. Being the teacher that I was, I put my thoughts in order......LOL....if you really knew me, you'd be worried right about now. January - Presidential Primaries Begin; New york Giants defeat the New England Patriots 17 - 14 with Eli Manning as the winning quarterback. February - Fidel Castro resigns as President of Cuba and lines up is brother to take his place; John McCain dominates Super Tuesday; Gunman kills students & then himself at Northern Illinois University; WackyPac go on a cruise; The 80th Academy Awards - "No Country for Old Men" won best picture. (I did get to see this move when it came out on pay-for-view......I didn't like it. Too much blood, the bad guy was really, really mean and crazy and bad) March - The WackyPac came back from a wonderful cruise, safe and sound. April - Olympic Torch relay is protested in London & Paris; Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 race. She is the first female to win an IndyCar race. May - Edward Kennedy is diagnosed with a brain tumor; Polar bears have been placed on the Endangered Species list; Big Brown loses his chance for the Triple Crown coming in last at the Breeders' Cup Classic. "Curlin" won the race. June - Barack Obama secures the democratic Nomination; Severe flooding from storms caused already swollen lakes & rivers in Iowa, Indiana & Wisconsin to flood leaving thousands evacuated from their homes, many deaths and roads closings; Tim Russet, moderator of Meet the Press, dies at the age of 58; Tiger Woods won the US Open with a broken leg and is out for the rest of the year. July - Kay Ryan is named as the new Poet Laureate; Caylee Anthony, age 2, is reported missing. August - Barack Obama picks Joe Biden as his running mate; The Democratic National Convention opens in Denver, Colorado; John McCain picks Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, as his running mate; The Summer Olympic Games open in Beijing, China; Michale Phelps wins 8 Gold Metals; New Orleans, Louisiana residents evacuate the city complying with their mayor, Ray Nagin's order as Hurricane Gustav moves in. September - Republican National Convention begins in Minneapolis, St Paul; Congress approves a Civil Rights Bill to broaden the definition of disability to include epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other illnesses; Hurricane Ike hits the shores of Galveston, Texas doing considerable damage; Dozens die in a commuter train crash in Chatsworth, California; Chinese Astronaut Zhai Zhigang makes his first outer space walk. October - WackyPac members make plans for their Opening Deer Season sew-in. November - Barack Obama is elected President of the United States; Congress rejects plea from automakers for a bailout; Ayden, my first grandbaby is born weighing in at 7.5 lbs & 21 inches long. December - Bernard Madoff, an investment manager, is arrested and charged with defrauding clients out of at least $50 billion; Adam Walsh's case was solved after 27 some odd years; Caylee Anthony's remains were found and positively identified; Eartha Kitt dies at age 81.

A Glimpse of My Christmas

"Where's dinner GoGo? I'm hungry! This binky is not cutting it."

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"She's really hungry GoGo. I think you should get dinner on the table. Now!"

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Look at my pretty new leopard jumper, GoGo.

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"Is she ever going to feed us? All she's doing is taking pictures. We're hungry! Somebody tell her stop and feed us!"

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"Alrighty then everyone, dinner's ready."

Twas......

Twas the night before Christmas........my list is shrinking of thing to get done, there's no stopping me now, just a short note before I have to run!

Alrighty then....that's as far as I go with the rhyming thing. Yesterday I received two wonderful goodies in the mail. A postcard from Holly, one of my swap buddies and a cute little coin purse & 2 bracelets from J. I won her give away. I was so excited!

I was digging around for more Christmas stuff and found this "Cowboy" stocking that someone made by using fabric paints and glue.

More Digging

More digging.......found this cute doorknob Santa. I don't remember when or where I bought it but I do remember why. I wanted a pattern so that i could make more, maybe make an angel and a dove door hanger......which never happened. But that's okay, too!

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Cabin In The Woods

I was digging through a rather large storage tub and came across this quilt that I made several years ago when I was in the middle of my "log cabin" phase. It reminds me of Christmas, peace and restfulness. Just wanted to share it with all my blogger friends.

New Post

Lookie what I got from Karen in Australia. The envelop is made from fabric. It is so cool. The card had a wonderful message written in it and the picture on the cover is of some of the things she's working on.

Karen doesn't have a blog but I wanted to share with everyone her wonderful work. Thank you so much Karen.

I'm A Winner!

Greetings all! I am on top of the world because Joanna just informed me that I won a pretty pink bag and a bracelet. Yes! Pop over to her blog and see what I won.

Spicy Hot

Here's a recipe to warm you up. 1. 2 1/2 cups Tang 2. 1 2/3 cups instant tea (your brand is fine) 3. 2 to 2 1/2 cups sugar or a sugar substitute 4. 1 small pkg. lemonade mix or 2 Tablespoons

5. 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves 6. 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

7. 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg Mix all ingredients in a blender. This is a large amount so you will need to blend a small amount at a time to mix thoroughly.

This hot drink mix is great to give as a Christmas gift, house-warming, for the teacher, the boss......the possibilities are endless.

BTW.....when you add white chocolate & macadamia nut cookies with a spicy hot cup, what could be better.

Burrrrrrrrrrrrr

So...........I live in central Texas where the temperature usually bottoms out at 50degrees about this time of year. It's 32degrees and falling today. Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Time for a great big pot of Red Beans with a side of cornbread. It's too cold to sew but a great day to lounge around, read a good book, drink a hot cup of my favorite tea and eat something hearty and as my grandma use to say, "Eat this, it'll stick to your ribs."

Gooo Gooo, Duh, GoGo!

The other night,

my friend Molly showed off her new grandbaby-to-be's Christmas stocking. Of course, I didn't have my camera with me but maybe when you pop over to her blog, she might have a picture there. Anyway, her stocking was so cute with the baby's name and all....well, it got me thinking that I could do better with Ayden's stocking which is pictured in a previous post. Ayden's colors are pink and green so I, of course, had to make it in those colors. So I started over, figured out how to line it without any seams showing, added her name, more greens and I was very pleased with the outcome. I know the little hook thingy seems low or off kilter but it hangs very well in that position.

Baby Doll came for a visit and gave her stamp of approval with a "wink."

The Post Office

I live in the country (back woods) right in the middle of 5 towns within a 20 to 40 mile radius. My mail comes to me via a wonderful lady riding around in a truck. So when I have to mail a package(s) I have to go into town to the post office. Lately, I've been sending loads of packages to my swap buddies and give-away friends. Since our post office is so small, the workers know me by facial recog at least or worse......by name. Usually they don't ask questions, only engage in polite conversation......"How's your day going?" "Boy, it's sure raining today." "Can you believe this wind." Things like that....... You're probably wondering about now.....what's she getting at? Goodness, she's long-winded. Just spit it out, already! LOL Well, when I wanted to mail packages to Malaysia, Australia, Canada, France and New York.......there were raise eyebrows, frowns, scratching of heads and the ultimate....call in the Post Mistress from her office out back. My most local post office has 3 workers plus the Post Mistress so this was a really big deal to them. My packages were weighed, stamped, questioned......"Is there anything breakable, liquid, flammable, perishable......the list went on and on and on. After answering all those questions, I had to fill out a few forms on return addresses and insurance for air mail, etc., etc., etc. At one point, I thought they'd call in the police with a metal detector or Home Land Security......Some of you will eventually get that one. Even though I had to drive into town, answer questions, fill out and sign paperwork, I wouldn't miss the fun of sending things to all the great people I've met via blogging.

Great Advice

Debbie posted a great link for swap etiquette. If you love to swap, please visit the link to Calamity Kim's.

Charity Contest

Charity begins at home and should spread around the world. Michele from Canada is sponsoring such a thing. Check out the info on this link and join in the loving care that goes into a quilt.

Soup's On!

Look what happens when you have leftover chicken. The recipe is very easy. Chop or cube cooked chicken, a medium onion, garlic (opt). In large pot add to cans chicken stock, the cubed chicken & chopped onions. Bring to a boil & reduce heat. Add uncooked noodles, chopped raw medium sized cabbage, 1 can of whole kernel corn, 1 can stewed tomatoes, 1 can of carrots, salt & pepper. Cover. Allow to simmer for 1 hour. Cook a pan of cornbread & enjoy. This soup makes a great gift. In a large basket place canned veggies, a bag of noodles, a package of cornbread mix & the recipe on a pretty card. Tie a decorative bow & you have a great gift.

First Stocking

I made this stocking for my little angel. My plan is to place her in it or on it and take her picture. This is her first Christmas. Wow! Ayden's colors are pink and green. Her room is pink & green with bubbles painted on the wall floating everywhere......thus the color choice. The pattern comes from a great site that has all kinds of projects. Well I'm off to find my little pumpkin.

From Debb

Debb sent this Christmas postcard along with a wonderful letter. We belong to a great little Postcard Swap group which you can visit on my sidebar. I love making, giving and receiving the postcards and can't wait to share them with all my blogging friends. We joke about what the post office folks think when they come across our fabric cards. I'll bet they get a kick out of seeing all the different designs. Fabric postcards are a great way to say hello, I love you, feel better or thinking of you. Anyone would love to receive such a heart warming surprise.

Dinner!

Dinner is a meal that I happen to enjoy but is lots of times, not well thought out. I was browsing around some of my favorite bloggers and came across an excellent dinner idea from Val. The above pic of stuffed potatoes or twice baked potatoes was her idea. Pop over to her blog and check out her tutorial on the subject. I added sausages and a red bell pepper salad to complete the meal.

Where To Begin

I have been very busy lately with family, cooking and such that I fell behind with posting important things. First, here are the wonderful postcards that I've received....Brenda sent me the "Boo" and the Christmas Tree with yellow beads with a star on top. Thanks Brenda. The turkey came from Vicki.....Gobble,Gobble! The colorful flowers came from Holly. I'm in a group of talented ladies. Make sure you pop in on their blogs and take a look. Lani, one of our Virtual Wannabees, sent the Wackies a big box of cookies.....yumm, yumm, yummy! Lani is a sweet lady. Make sure you pop over to her blog and see what she's up to.....BTW, Lani, I'll make sure the Wackies partake of the cookies.....;-} Lookie here now! These are all the goodies that I received from my miniature booty swap pal, Vickie. I had no idea who my secret pal was and was very happy to ogle all the wonderful things she sent me. We had a Christmas theme, so Vickie did a fireplace with stockings, presents, lights and angels. A kittie is warming by the fire as well. She also sent a yummy candy bar, 2 colorful FQs, a book entitled "The Top End - Australia's Northern Territory," and a pretty pin. WOW.....thank you so much Vickie!

Quick Projects for Christmas

Need to make a small project or two as a gifts for Christmas or just for yourself? Well follow the Nativity link and the Santa link to get started. You won't be sorry.

Fire Ants

Over at DTE, Rhonda gives a recipe of Borax and white sugar as a way to get rid of "ants." Where she's from, the ants there eat the mixture and depart within a couple of days or so. I wonder if that solution works on "fire ants?" Anybody know the answer to that? If it works on the little demons, I'm all for it.

B & W Challenge

It's a challenge! "The Black & White Quilt Challenge" sponsored by Jackie is gathering speed. She has challenged us to make quilts using Black/White and one other color. I've made several, one shown in this post, but I wanted to get involved in this particular challenge because

I wanted to us my EQ6 skills and get rid of some of my fabric stash. The quilt that's pictured was made from "nickel square" packages and 2 1/2" scraps for the first border

Jackie has graciously given us a year to make a quilt. This is great. Surely I can get that one done.

The countdown begins.......................