Disney Ornament

Hello Gang - hope everybody is enjoying this beautiful day! I had told DH about my bee adventure and he took some spray out and hoped he had moved all of them away except for the  bees on the front porch. I told him the sad story about how I almost lost a tomato plant that I wanted to plant on the front porch and how the bees would not allow me on the porch to water them. So, he joined forces with me today ! I wish you could have seen us! We were definitely action figure heroes! I would go out and start to do something with my plants and then - here the  bee calvery would show up! And I mean -FAST - like super sonic attack mode, and with their trumpets going full blast ! BZBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!  That meant attack at full force and drive these humans off our 'airstrip ". I would take off running behind DH while he maned the water- hose! :) But I did manage to get two tomato plants inserted in my home-made upside down tomato set-up. LOL - I had been doing that long before the media came up with the topsy-turvy tomato kits. But - I used two plastic 5 gallon buckets and cut a Small hole in the bottom of them -then insert tomato plant and cover with dirt.  With DH's help I got both of the buckets cleaned out from last year and inserted the two new plants -one is a cherry tomato (we used to call them tommy toes ) and the second one is a Brandy-Wine . I am so anxious to see what they do????  As I enjoy our beautiful sunny weather with my plants -my heart goes out to all of my dear friends -who live so far away and are now Enjoying their almost Winter-time! Many - Happy Snowballs to each of you! :) I still have about 4 more pots to plant -but I let DH take a break for all of his manning of the water hose! :)

So, while it is the hottest part of the day -now 81- I have fed DH beans and cornbread and tomatoes in vinegar and sugar and I have retreated to the sewing room.

I had cut out those little squares from the Disney themed fabric and a red piece of fabric that I don't even remember where it came from.I pulled out the ironing board and iron and started folding them all in half  from a square to a rectangle-and from a rectangle to a triangle and Here too I learn lessons -after all I am a child of the universe and need to learn all I can??? :)

I have learned that when you fold the little squared into a rectangle -you need to pay attention to where your fingers are located because if you don't - that fearsome iron will have no pity on you!
I have also learned that when you fold the rectangle into a triangle that not only do you have to pay close attention to making your fold nice and neat - but you must discover a way to keep the folded areas down until you can get an iron on it - and also when you move places on the ironing board -that ironing board remains hot also! :)

It did not take much time for me to get my next lesson-that beautiful red fabric has a finish that makes sticking my pins into the red triangles ALMOST impossible! :( But , I did persevere even though it was a fight to the finish!)

I have also learned that a NEW ironing board cover does not stay new looking very long at all - only about a week!  And I have learned that the cover will start having little folds all over the board and when I stuck my hand under it to see what was going on - that the cloth top and the heat fiber glue themselves together and they will burn you also! So, I guess the only way you can keep your ironing board cover looking nice would be to NEVER USE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then I treated myself to a strawberry-rhubarb pie. I have a friend in Tenn. and she got my curiosity up last year when we spoke about them. I had never tasted one- heck , I had never been able to have strawberry plants or even the rhubarb plants  and then when I saw I had both of them growing this year - I decided to take the plunge and see what she was talking about. DH did not like it and that was great because it left an extra piece for me! :) And that was the best crust I had even remember making! So, as June says - YUMMY! :)

A Brand New Week!

A brand new week and I did not even realize it untill our sons called us! Talk about a surprise! See what I mean about each week seems to go faster and faster and is definitely "in the blink of an eye"!
I tackled another ornament and since we all have hearts - I thought it might signify the things  or people that we love in our lives?

Needless to say -Miss Rosie is keeping guard on my pile of leftover knits. She is so funny.

With each one I learn a different lesson. I am wondering if the measurements should not be 2 3/4 instead of 2.5. It is very difficult for me to keep these little dudes lined up right  and still match on both sides?And -IF - there is anything that I am good at - is making boo-boos. While I was working on this one we had a really nice rain and the "storm" went around us! I was really pleased. :)

It is fun to see how each end turns out. Sorry my camera is blurry - I thought I had figured that out. Guess not?

And of course here is the opposite side.I have my first strawberry rhubarb pie in the oven and it is coming out. I better run and hope every one had a perfect day! :)

An Angel in my mailbox !

 

I will never know how Miss Char from Tobycat Creations knew that I loved angels - but some little birdy must have told her and this little angel traveled all the way from IN. to VA. and arrived safely in my mailbox to shock me to death.!:) I surely had done nothing to deserve a gift like this! All hand crafted  - what an honor. When I was a little girl I used to beg  Mama to make me something that I could say was made for me by my Mama and she was always too busy - even though I knew she could do embroidery and that was all I wanted. I guess that is why handcrafted gifts mean So much to me!

Not to forget the little precious pouch - isn't it sweet with those little scallops on the front? It certainly is inspirational.

Here is a close up of the design and she hand stitched it. She also said that it was colored in with colored pencils- I have never heard of this technique - but I really do love its affect. It makes the colors so nice and soft causing a nice matte finish which is set off by the shiny threads. Also she did the work on muslin and for some reason I really do love muslin. When I go to the stores I usually go by the muslin and run my hands across it and enjoy the thrill. :)

I wish everybody could be as happy tonight -as I am now! 

Love to one and all and thank you again so much Char! :)

Now I gotta go make my DH some biscuits- and we will have tomato biscuits for supper.

Lovely day and Disney

With DH out of the house today - I got sooooo many things accomplished that I had hoped to do months ago.I can get into sooo much trouble by myself - all I have to do is attempt something ! For instance when I went to feed the chickens - I realized I could use the bigger hanging feeder now. It was laying on top of the run and when I reached up to snatch it - BEES - Mad Bees!! and I took off squalling and running!  I eventually got all the critters fed and went back in the house . Now would be the perfect time to bring my flowers outside for a vacation -since our frost danger is now passed. I pulled all the flowers off the shelf  and placed them on the ground while I went back to drag the shelf outdoors and placed it near the back door on a level spot. All was going great UNTIL I wiggled the shelf as I placed a couple of plants on it and ---- BEES!!!!!! Yep- I got squalling and running once again - only this was closer to the door so I didn't have as far to run! I stood and watched them pile out of their so-called home and look for the invader that had upset them . It was bad enough that they were mad because I had wiggled the shelf - they were now Mad because I had flowers sitting in front of the door to their house! I came on in and got busy cleaning things I had hoped to clean for a while now.About an hour later I went back to check on them-hoping to get my other flowers off the ground and as I tiptoed near =BEES! Some kind of Little -tiny black bees and they had found a crack on the storm window and took up residence! Back in the house for safety where I clean up the little mud porch from all my flower mess and next I waded into laundry and cobwebbs and just lots of dirt.

Soon I get a notion to go out the front door to visit with the flowers and that is where I captured this yellow colombine. So perfect and making me so happy just to visit with it. Next just up the hill a tad I found this yellow and pink columbine

.I just love flowers -talk about pure joy-they are for me.

I was amazed that one of my roses was now in bloom and I had to stop and say hi!  As I meander down to check out some canna's and they were just peeking through the ground now - I stopped to look at one of my birdhouses that Harley had made for me out of flower pots . For the past two years a family of chickadees had called this one home . I looked and realized that the bottom of the pot had caved in and no birds could use it until I would fix the bottom. But I was lucky because when I was cleaning the back porch off - I had found a bottom that DH had cut out for me as a spare last year. I was really lucky to find it-much less remember where it was. I took the little pot off of its hanger and trotted up to the front porch where I laid it down on its side to go get the other part and as I did - BEES!! had staked their claim on it - regardless of how poor condition it was in. So, I scooted back in the house - I was now flanked in at the front door and the back door and not a very happy camper at all. I did realize how lucky I was not to get caught and stung because I am allergic to them.

I came in the sewing room and searched for what my next project would be and I  heard a loud noise. Went to the door to look and hail was pouring down .

Of course by the time I went and grabbed the camers - you cannot see it except that gray film is rain.I appreciated the rain because I knew that would make the bees slower.

So , I went back out and peeked in the hole where the bottom floor of the bird house was and saw the wasps in there. I took the water hose and stuck it in and very unpolitely evicted them! Now, I have to let it dry out before I can fix the bottom - so that will be another day. LOL

The only thing you can see is a couple of white spots where they hit my camera.

This piece of Disney was a half yard that I picked up for my daughter-in-law because she loves Disney. On the left hand side is the checkbook cover that I had made for her for Christmas - last year- and guess who forgot to give it to her???? That would be me - so I had hoping to give it to her for her birthday in July. I cut all the little squares and am going to tackle an ornament and that will not leave MUCH at all to waste? Just those little top three scrapes ? I have been considering using them to do the a set of "ear rings"???  You just never know what I will come up with??? :) But, I am WAY too tired to tackle anything else tonight!

My son did call and they have just arrived home from their doctor visit and he said they are thinking Tuesday they will operate on his back for the 3 disc that have ruptured? It was interesting that they told him -IF - he could wait another couple of months that sometimes the disc repair themselves -which was what happened with me. He also said that the people at this Big hospital were tons nicer than at our local 3 little hospitals.He said they wanted to help you get your health back and treated him sooo nice. I worry about him because he works with heavy equipment?

To  one and all - a good night! :)

No Pictures Today

This day has just been a frenzy. I spent most of the day fixing a cooler full of sandwiches and drinks because tomorrow my DH will be taking our youngest son to a hospital 4 hours drive to look at the disc in his back.It turned out funny because I had told my daughter-in-law to ask Emmett would he rather ride in the back seat or in the front seat where he could lay the seat back? She said that was an easy choice because ever since they had been in a car wreck 4 years back that Emmett would get car-sick if he did not ride in the front seat. That really amazed me  because that is the same problem that I have ever since our wreck? I wondered what in the world was going on. ????

Then this afternoon I had my counseling session and I got car-sick riding in the front . It was so miserable -going out was bad enough -but coming home also. I HATE to be car-sick. Then when we got home and I rested about half an hour -I went out and cleaned up the car so it would be decent for them to ride in. I am hoping for good news tomorrow????

I hope each of you has had a lovely day, as you have shared of yourselfs today.
Bye for now!

Wednesday Ornament

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time is. I can remember getting up because it was Late . We ate breakfast but it should have been lunch. By the time I got that cleaned up and did some laundry and some dishes, ect. -my day had slipped away -again.

So, I slipped away into the sewing room and started cutting out  a different color out for one of the ornaments. It takes quiet a bit of time -from measuring and cutting out your squares and then ironing them folded and then refolded - and it is not without its hazards! Lining up your first two squares on the top and bottom is so important. Then building your layers is tricky - especially when you poke a pin through the skin on your finger and you have to catch that blood before it ruins your project.. Then of course you have to kiss your finger to make that boo-boo go away! LOL

I still think they make me think of puzzles and they drive me nuts attempting to line up those little triangles?

I wish I had one of Lynne's Teflon gloves . I think that would really help protect your fingers when you are attempting to use that HOT iron to make the triangles. That steam really hurts! Then my other problem is I get in too big of a hurry and make mistakes. I guess I do like that "instant gratification"? :)

Fantasy tee-shirt

Today was a very nice day with rain coming and going. I started to work on a tee - shirt for my youngest daughter-in-law -for her birthday in July. I had found this piece of pale green at The Pottery. Meagan's favorite color is shades of green and this year she is starting to like some pink - maybe relating to her being pregnant and her female side??? I loved this piece of fabric because it was SOOOOO soft.That was what caught my attention.

 I think the finished project might be too large because of its extreme stretchiness. But I might be able to pull it off because she will be 5 months pregnant and she might appreciate the "give" and since it is so lightweight she will need it to be cool as she can be.  I can remember the Summer that I carried her now husband - I thought I would die from the heat of the pregnancy and the Summer heat combined together. The previous 2 pregnancies were Winter babies and I learned to appreciate them. LOL

Here I have laid my front side on top of the back side with right sides together. That was one step that I really had to work on when I first started. But now I find when I keep "right sides together" - helps keep me on "the right side of the road"! :)

This is one tip that Lynne shared with me - that really saves my hide! When it came to the process of attaching a neckband to the shirt top -always throwed me ! I would end up with it being sooo crooked or the raw ends would not be even and go anywhere that they wanted to. I was beginning to think that I would never be able to put on a neckband without ruining it.So, Lynne told me to sew the to ends of the band together and then take it to the machine and zigzag the two raw edges together so it cannot go which ever way it wants to to.I now have it captured.

Now I am ready to attach the band to the shirt.

First you divide your shirt neck in half and I mark these dividers with pins or sometimes I just put a dot of a marker color on it and then take that half and fold it over once again and mark your edges once again. You now have markers to make your band go on evenly.

Here you can see both the band and the shirt divided into fourths and I have them all marked with pins.

This is what it looks like when you match all of your markers. The band is still facing right sides together.

When you go to attach your sleeves -you divide it evenly also -so it will divide evenly from the shoulder seam.

this is one of the sleeves attached at the shoulder -with your fabric -right sides facing each other.

When ever you see the little marks on your pattern - they are like road sides for you. This one is one of my Favorites - it means for you to make sure you lay your fabric together and this piece goes toward the back part of your shirt.

 

Then after I have sewn the parts all together I go back and serge the the ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the tail of the shirt. This is just to make it look cleaner when you put your hems in and it also helps guide you down your road!

This is her shirt and next will be a close up of the design.

Which Path To Take?

Today is a very lovely day and with high spirits I head to the sewing room. I cut out a tee shirt for my youngest daughter-in-law out of her favorite color - green.Green has significance because it has these properties:


Green is the color of nature, fertility, life. Grass green is the most restful color. Green symbolizes self-respect and well being. Green is the color of balance. It also means learning, growth and harmony. Green is a safe color, if you don't know what color to use anywhere use green.
Green is favored by well balanced people. Green symbolizes the master healer and the life force. It often symbolizes money. It was believed green was healing for the eyes. Egyptians wore green eyeliner. Green eyeshades are still used. You should eat raw green foods for good health. Friday is the day of green. Green jade is a sacred stone of Asia.

Green Energy

Green contains the powerful energies of nature, growth, desire to expand or increase. Balance and a sense of order are found in the color green. Change and transformation is necessary for growth, and so this ability to sustain changes is also a part of the energy of green.
Put some green in your life when you want:

• a new state of balance
• feel a need for change or growth
• freedom to pursue new ideas
• protection from fears and anxieties connected with the demands of others

Green gem stone properties

Green gemstones are used to attract money, prosperity and wealth. They are balancing stones that promote growth and fertility. Carry, wear or place green gemstones around your home or office to promote balance, change and growth.

Isn't that so neat.?? I got so enthused while the embroidery machine was working -with me keeping a close eye on it  - so it would behave)  that I happened to run across a song on U-tube by the Celtic Women and they captured my heart. How truly lovely! I had to take a break and listen to their music . It was like being mesmerized - I could not move to sew - it seemed like my heart was dancing. What a truly wonderful experience.For once it was an honor to be human and have your spirit take flight.  Then back to work -I have put the shirt top in the embroidery hoop with stabilizer behind them.

 Next I had to decide on which design I had decided to use for her.

Of course I almost got myself in trouble right off the bat. I had saved the design without checking about the size and If I had not noticed it - my fairy would have been sideways instead of right side up? Thank goodness someone was watching out for me!

It took a couple of fights between me and the embroidery machine - but we pulled it off so far.

 So, this is the front section of the tee-shirt for her -and the embroidery design did not "eat it " and ruin the project - although there have been a couple of times when it did . One time I was embroidering a shirt with a horse on it for me and it got all the way down to the last few stitches and it YANKED the fabric down into the embroidery hole where the needle goes and tore a hole in it. I was heartsick because I really wanted that shirt bad and had already put a lot of work into it. I sat and pondered a few minutes while I had a little pity party and then I had a Brain-freeze! I yanked that puppy out of there and took a needle and thread and embroidered a small butterfly by hand right on top of the horse and it looked great. That sure did make my day!  I am sure there are a great number of people who use embroidery machines that will have similar experiences like that to share with us.

Well, my dear family - it has started raining here and I need to run and do a few things!Have a great day and have many "Happy Trails" to you. :)

Ornaments and Rain :)

Hello, hello!

Today is a beautiful 71 degrees and lots of rain to make things grow.Maybe -even - my brain ? Have you ever thought about how important our brains are? I don't think I really had -until we had that car wreck two years ago. Aside from the painful headaches - the avoidance of loud noises which seem to explode in my head and the confusion which makes it very tough to learn new things or to even take new things and then transform them as you grow -into creations of your very own? I would like to thank each of you for your patience and support. Aside from learning new things I have learned that a virtual family is one of the greatest blessings you can have and I would love to "thank you" so very much! So, let's see what we can get into today. :)

 Starting a new ornament -take your first square and pin it in place.

When adding the second one the idea is to get all four corners to match and have approximately the same distance from each other -top to bottom.

See how the top and bottom squares match up pretty good. I took my tape measure and got the distance approximately the same on all four corners. If these squares match up - you have laid a nice foundation to build on.

Next fold from the top folded edge Down to the raw edge as evenly as you can.

Next fold from the opposite side top folded edge coming down to meet the raw edges to form a triangle.

Haha - here are my little triangles and they look like a fleet of flying sauces. LOL

This is the position for the first triangle -on top of the square-it will go from corner to corner.

This is two rows completed -one on top and one on bottom. They make me think of a row of "duck tails" holding hands all the way around.

You can see the yellow square shining through on this end and it looks like this on the opposite end.

This is the band that runs around the middle to hide where your top and bottom intersect at and make it look tidy.

This is the two sides with their little star showing. You can change your rows of colors and change the design.

Here are the two different colors Switched .

This is one of the previous ones with a wide band around the center , but I decided that I liked the more narrow band -so I tore it apart and now it looks like this!

I had a lovely day and got a few things accomplished. Then my kids and one grandkid and two great grand kids showed up! That was a nice surprise. :)

I hope each of you has had a blessed day. Love to all!