A Day of Running

DH & I had different agendas, but they were all going in the same direction. We needed a steel brush to clean out the throats on our outdoor wood stove and I had looked EVERYWHERE - under every rock and cranny-but there were NONE to be found in our neck of the woods, so we knew we could have to travel into North Carolina where the manufacturer was located that had built our stove.

We had planned to leave early this morning-but we were delayed because DH was under the weather so I told him to go back to bed while I went out and did my chores ,which I knew would take about an hour. It was pleasant outdoors so I even sneaked in the first walk I have had in about a week. When I got back the dogs started barking at an imaginary booger & DH was up and feeling some better.

Our first stop was the drug store for medicines. Then we were on our way. After about a 45 minute we had to go right by Mountain Plains Fabrics so I stopped in and asked the lady if she had any John Deere Flannel. She looked and found about half a yard and that was not enough for the pair of lounge pants that I want to make for DH. That did not take but ten minutes and we were on our way once again to the manufacturer of our stove. They are very nice people and they had the brush we needed. DH also asked them about fixing our stove where you can run it off of oil if you want to and they told him that the part would cost 150.00 and that running it on oil would be terribly expensive. After we almost were home I remembered that we both had forgot to ask him what the price on a stove pipe would be from them???? : (    If we only had a brain instead of a delayed reaction. )  LOL
 On the way back we stopped at The Pottery where I stopped in to check on the fabric once again.But , I had no luck there either. For some reason it is like John Deere fabric has disappeared off the face of the earth Now we are home all safe and sound and I am so grateful for that!

Another Granddaughter's Gift

This has certainly been an en-lighting Christmas, as I received gifts from two granddaughters and I am just so impressed with them because they took into consideration what my natural loves are- and that is sewing very high at the top of my list. The youngest one was posted yesterday with that lovely quilt and this is what her sister got me .

I did get into it and check out all those spools of thread -took a couple out and inserted some of my embroidery threads just to see what would happen and they did fit in there,so once I use up the threads already included I can definitely substitute my light colors of embroidery threads to help keep all of the dust off of them. I am just so honored that both of these gals took the time to think of me. That is an honor in my book.

We have had a cold , hard rain here all day today - but got lucky and got NO SNOW , so I am happy! I have just been dead tired today - I think my "mojo" is not up to par? It feels like I should still be sewing away up to the wee hours of the morning and does not know how to regroup and get back on that New Year coming train! LOL

I hope everybody else is having better luck - regrouping !!!!!!!!!!!!  O Gosh , I just happened to remember that now????????? I have to check out birthdays ??????? : {}

Day After Christmas 2011

Whew - I can not believe that it is all over. All of that hard work has moved onto whom it was created for. I think my body is in shock??? We had beautiful weather and I was so pleased. My oldest son's house was pretty full and we were all scattered all over it. He is lucky that he has so much room-but he works so hard to pay for it -so he deserves it. I have wished through the years that I could have had my grandmother's house , but my uncle burnt it up with a cigarette and smoking in bed. He was so lucky to escape with his life.  Our house is so small that you have to pile things on top of things just to get anything accomplished. Our kitchen is SO small that you can hardly turn around in it without bumping into the fridge or the stove. I can't even have a table, which I would love , so I could fix pretty things to go on it. Probably better I don't because DH has a way of always piling things everywhere as he travels through. I guess that is why marriage is a compromise - plus , it gives us a chance to learn new lessons. I am tired of this years lessons - I hope I can just breath for the rest of the year.This is a time that I like to just count my blessings and take time to appreciate what this year has been about. But now I wanted to share with you a gift that I am So very proud of . This is a lap quilt that my 15 year old granddaughter made for me and she has done very little sewing. I know she did a pillow , so with this project I was SO SHOCKED to see her tackle such a difficult project, especially for me. I am so honored. This side is all cartoon kitties and their sayings.

I was also smitten by the binding that she used and what a good job that she did.

This one says, we possess automatic climatic control, as kittie hairs fly every which way. : )

But , if you turn it over it has doggies all over the back side. I am just so thrilled and talk about warm - I covered my legs with it when we got  home and in just a few minutes it was hot under there. Two of the pups came to share it with me and it passed their best approval rating. : )

I am still beaming . I have always felt that when somebody makes you something that it is quiet an honor.

Christmas Eve

Hi Blog Family-
I wanted to wish you a Happy Christmas and hope you are all healthy and happy. I decided to allow myself to pick a gift that I could open tonight. This gift traveled farther than I have ever traveled in all of my life. After all of this traveling - it is so small -that I am AMAZED that it took the ride that decently. I am so thrilled that it did make the trip. It came all the way from Australia -the land where I always wanted to go see the kangaroos in real life.  But, since we have all been blogging I have come to realize that it also houses many talented people and I admire them so very much.It is such a pleasure to be allowed to see what such talented artists create. I am the lucky person that now will display a beautiful gift that I really love.So - TA DAAAAAAAA!

This beautiful piece of art work comes from Maria  @Life On The Block. Isn't it just beautiful and to think that this magical piece of GLASS took that long and dangerous journey and arrived here for me to treasure. Stained glass has always been an art form that I wanted to learn- so this is the perfect gift and we all know that butterflies are connected to transformation -and I do feel like that is what my life is up to. So, thank you -my dear Maria - I am so honored and so thrilled and it is just hard to find the words to express my appreciation of all of your hard work. I could not help but wonder if this was like a sewing project in that when I am working on something -with each stitch they are in my mind and on my heart . I know that you have such a wonderful heart and I hope that the blessings you bestow on others comes back to you doubled !

The big day is coming (Chris in New Zealand at Diet Coke Rocks -Cheats because she has already had Christmas!) I can almost hear the jingle bells on the harnesses of the reindeer as they fly-  so to one and all  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

O Gosh, I am tired

DH took our youngest son to the doctor today and I worked the entire day on two more pair of lounge pants. These are pink camo knit, and it never ceases to amaze me how much work you can put into some thing.

With this project I had to iron the knit fabric because it just was twisted every which way and I needed it to lay nice and flat  for the seams to run straight.  That took at least 45 minutes and then lay everything out and cut so carefully so the seams will be straight- that was another 45 minutes at least , and there you go - you already have  an hour and a half before you even get into the sewing.After sewing most of the day I looked out the window and saw how dark it looked - gosh - the day had already got away from me and I still had chores to do. I was trying to put them off until I had a completed project to show for all of my hard effort-but with dark not far away I took off outside. I took down the rugs that I had washed this morning because somehow  they had dried -even thought it was really dark and cloudy all day long.

I carried out some sheets that I cover the chairs and couch with because of the furbabie hairs. I got them all hung out and started on outside chores and happened to notice that rain was setting in - so, back to the clothes line and jerked them all down & ran them into the dryer. Back outside for the chores and the rain had quit. HUM????? So, I started on chores once again and after I had finished I started to the house and decided that I REALLY needed a walk since the weather is so UNUSUALLY beautiful- temperatures in the 60's . I got half way up the hill when the rain came back and was getting harder all the time so I turned and came back to the house. I locked up the chickens  as I passed by, with the rain getting harder all the time. I think the rain & I were playing a game of tag with each other. : )

SO, back to work and as I laid the two pair out - I noticed I  had the elastic in for the waist, but had neglected the cord .

I remedied that little forgetful clue! Looking better all the time , just wishing I was faster.

So , now I have two more pair of lounge pants for the young gals.This is a Simplicity pattern - one of those made for the nurses and aids and thus, the legs were much too long and I had to cut them off quiet a bit. I used the medium size -but had to even cut them down . Should have used the small size - I was just afraid to. I can always cut them down - but it is a lot harder to blow something back up bigger. : )

Well I better get them wrapped and then see where I am at?
A bucket of HO_HO-HO's to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is getting closer

My super visor is really trying hard to keep me straight-but it is a very hard job! This morning we met DH's sister and brother-in-law in town when he came for a doctor's visit at the Veterans Hospital. They are setting him up with some physical therapy in his own home town.

They took us out to eat and we played catch-up with them. The food was delicious  and then we stopped in at Bed , Bath and Beyond . Didn't have any "spare" money so I had fun just looking! They had so many things to look at! It did not take long for all of us ,"seniors" to just "tucker-out". We said our good-byes and headed towards home. We stopped at a little hardware that is so good at giving you great advice and with their help we got the last few things we needed to set up the little gas fireplace. My girlfriend had given us a hundred dollars for Christmas and the bill to set up the stove was 96.47.

It had started to rain on us coming home and DH had a couple of "Doug-fits" because the copper lines leaded and he had to re-do them. But, he finally turned it on and turned out the lights and the gas fire looks very real and the heat is wonderful! SO many people are installing these little stoves to have heat when the electricity goes out. All of our Lowe's Building Supplies around are almost empty of gas stoves.We are so lucky to get one -thanks to my saving and Christmas gifts of two friends. Plus, looking at the flame made me sleepy- so they must be peaceful too. DH installed ours with 15 lb. propane tanks and people kept telling him he could not use these tanks- so we asked at the hardware store and they told us we could use them - but they would just run out of gas really quick. He used this size tank because when it comes time for him to pass away that is the only size that I can lift and carry to go get it refilled. I just cannot budge those 100 lb. tanks.

As we were coming home we took a little side road and I really wished I had been smart enough to take my camera. One yard was completely filled with blow-up Christmas decorations. Last year this family had put their things out and a young man went through while he was gone and destroyed EVERY decoration that he had . It was just total devastation and it not only broke his heart, but the heart of all who heard. They did catch the offender and then the whole community  donated  money for him to start over once again. He also posted a big "Thank-you" sign for all to see.

I have been wrapping presents all evening and I am just pooped. So many of them may be small - but they still take time to wrap and put names on. So, I am going to hop to bed because DH has to take our youngest son to his doctor appointment tomorrow and I am hoping to get some more sewing accomplished. The house is just turned upside down and so dirty from all the rain and mud that has been tracked in.  It is just hopeless sometimes. But we all know how that feels at times. So , good night and sweet dreams  - OR - for our friends around the glove - good morning and sweet daydreams! :)

Would You Believe-

another day has come and gone and left me behind. Last night I cleaned house and fell into bed at 3 in the morning. I was so tired - and yet tonight - it is even dirtier than it was last night? What is this terrible illness ? Maybe it is called Death by Dirt????????????

This is another one of the size 3x shirts -so it travels with the blue one last night -off to do its job , HO-HO-HO ing!  It is hard for me to get the xxx sizes to hang and look nice. I really like sewing the larger sizes. I wish that  I cold sew for the larger sizes and support myself-but - with fabric SO EXPENSIVE it is almost impossible to  compete with the cheaper clothing from other countries.I mean golly - I have looked at some pretty knits and it costs 18.00/yard and it takes almost 3 yards of fabric to make so many things? -so that is like 54.00for a tee shirt and that is not counting the time it takes. These last two took two days for me -one day for the embroidery work and one day for the sewing.

And , this is EXACTLY how I feel about it!  : )

June's Christmas shirt

O Boy,, I have worked hard all day long-first with outside chores and then onto more gifts. I had planned to take it to the post office to mail-but time got away from me and I had to go on to UPS. There is a young lady who works there and she is one of the sweetest gals ! She is kind and sweet , friendly and helpful- and always fun. I had to laugh at her when I   asked her if she could believe it had been a year since I had mailed this and she was amazed too. But it felt like it was just a short while since I had been there before.

But, Gosh- it seemed that the harder I worked to accomplish my goal today- everything tried to trip me up. I think that Mean sewing troll has been at work again .But I better hop off of here as I am falling asleep at the computer. Let's see what tomorrow brings!
Love to all

Life can be like a run-away train

It just seemed like there was not enough time. I worked late on Weds. night on the presents that were to go to W.Va.(two hour drive) the next morning. So, it was 4AM before I got to bed and that made me sleep in till 9am. But, I was in "slow motion" - I was so tired.

This was my birthday and this trip was to ho-ho-ho with DH's sister and her DH. By the time we ate some potato soup and had Ho-Ho - the day was over and we had to head home because we have trouble sometimes seeing after dark.

This is what Christmas is all about for me- to be able to put a smile on someone's face -and my heart just skips a beat for joy!

Eddie is checking out one of those trash bags I made that hangs on the back of the front car seat. They are so much fun.

I am working on another Christmas present that I need to get mailed tomorrow and as usual time is getting away from me. I am sticking with those designs that my machine likes , so that will save me some headaches. But , it takes more time than I had realized when you work on designs. Each one can easily run you an hour of time and that is how time runs off and leaves you! : )

I hope each of you are having a wonderful holiday season! : )

Katherine's Shirt

O , please - if any of you have any "SPARE" minutes - please send them my way. !!!! I got up this am and went out and did chores and we ate and I washed my hair in the sink because it is faster than a shower. We took off for DH's doctor appointment. It took quiet a while , first because they could not get a reading on his blood pressure to come out right - first it was way too low and then it was higher than normal. The doctor thinks that is being caused by the new medicine that he is on.

Then he had to go back in the treatment room where they gave him his shot and finally we were out the door and I had forgotten that I had my counseling-thank goodness I remembered ! I would have been SO upset with myself if I had not shown up and made her lose valuable time that she could have been doing something to help someone else.

After that we took off to go by our youngest son's house to drop off a package of chicken that she had left in a bag of groceries for us and it was hers. That was a quiet Hi and Bye because I had to jump on the rest of the Christmas presents I was working on for DH's sister. The part for my serger had come in - I could not believe it was that fast! Thank you Brother!!!!!!!!!!

DH put the parts on and too late I realized that the serger was WAY out of adjustment.It was now a war between wills! I was willing to complete these presents -but the serger was only willing to give me a horrible mess and lots of grief. You can tell from the picture who won that battle , but I am still not pleased with the results. I am beginning to wonder if it is only when you are under pressure to accomplish something that everything seems to go wrong???????????

O! Do you remember my frustration with that sewing troll that hides in the sewing room to play tricks on me??? AND do you remember how I bragged about these new designs were sewing out perfect like they are suppose to ???? Well, I think that troll decided she had missed a chance to have some fun - because all of this work this afternoon has been broken stitches -and that is on top of that dumb serger. Now , I know machines cannot just fall off of the good wagon all by themselves and nothing has changed from the other projects - SO - I believe that sewing troll is up to no good once again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But, I'm going to W.Va. tomorrow and will be gone ALL day long -so we will see what plans she works on for the next sewing day?????????????????????????

I love all of you and o my gosh it is way past midnight - love to all and BYE!

Boo-Hoo, Boo-Hoo!

It's a good thing that I have a very loving BOSS . She has taken over the boss's seat to watch over me and keep me on track-except for the couple of times that she decided to take a break - and demand that I give her some of the deer jerky that I made for her. Of course If she gets a piece everybody else in the clan wants some too. It does not take long for good homemade jerky to disappear. I did notice in the store the other day that they were selling chicken jerky for dogs and about the same size pack as I have and it is selling for 10.)) a bag!!!!!!! So Miss Mochia can count her blessings. LOL

Since the dumb serger is down for the count I ordered the part today , but they said 7 to 9 business days and you know how Close that will make it to Christmas! Yea- too close for comfort!  : (

So , I have spent the whole afternoon wrapping gifts! They are just small , but very time consuming ! I can see where my summer slipped off to-as each small item took considerable time into its creation and probably lots of love to. I like the idea that with each stitch I make that I am sending the receiver thoughts of love and encouragement. It's like being able to sit down with each person individually and just enjoy them.

While I am muddeling around in my misery I happened to discover a "Gift" in my mailbox. For ME! O, I was so excited -and still am ! BUT - I have written to tell the sender that I received it and ask instructions on IF I am to wait for Christmas before I tear into it. Well, technically - I would not Tear into it because it is quiet small and I would not want to destroy it in my excitement. It will be one of those moments like those people who love wine - they talk about taking it slow and easy to enjoy its essence! So, I definitely want to keep that essence alive! -EVEN my DH wanted to open it! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I will bid my farewells -until we meet again!
Hugs-linda

Pink camo lounge pants

Did you hear that loud wailing today - I know you had to hear it! It seems the closer it gets to Christmas - the more things like to pull a good one on me. I was having enough trouble with these knit lounge pants -trying to decided which person they would work the best for . I had made it as far as I was ready to serge the waist when all of a sudden there was a very loud "pop" that  scared me to death and after I checked all of my body parts to make sure I was still "kicking" - I started to look around and there on the deck of my serger I could see a silver metal piece. After having that fight last night with the serger I was NOT too happy to have it give me anymore trouble-BUT- I guess it was not finished with me because it was a piece of the stitch finger and obviously it was now "OUT  OF SERVICE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I proceeded to have a "little pity party" and then I decided I was not whipped yet. So , I played around with some of the stitches on my little Janome sewing machine and decided to use one of those stitches in place of the serger stitches to just dress it up a little  . I was even pleased with the way it turned out. Of course it took twice as much time to do .

I wish I could find that "little sewing troll" - I know she hides in my sewing room just dreaming up tricks to pull on me. If I could find her I would give her the BOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DH's short sleeve camo tee

What a perfect day! A sewing day and that is the best kind.Our oldest son called this morning and wanted his Dad to come over and bring his truck so they could cut a load of wood from a tree that came down in a storm a few weeks back. This way he got to "play with the guys" and I got to" play with my fabrics"! That is a "win-win" event.

Of course I muffed half of the day away trying to set DH's computer up to where he could go to Ebay, (he looks there for all kind of parts  and gets a lowdown on prices) But, with all the meanness in the world I had a really hard time working on it. Things had changed a LOT since I had set up my account several years ago. When I put our bank in for the payments -it say our bank needed research and could not be used and here I have been using it for years. Things just do not make good sense lately. Last night I had attempted to install a virus protection and just could not get it to do what it was suppose to and then today it installed perfectly?  Makes you really "scratch your head"??????   I wish I could have got E-bay to co-operate today because he is watching a chainsaw part. Jeepers!

Remember the long sleeve t-shirt I had made night before last for DH ? Well, I  did some figuring today when my brain came back to visit and decided the sleeves were just a mile too long. So, I cut them off and changed the cuffs out to a piece of dark green knit ,which was so much softer and laid better.

Then I jumped on this short sleeve version , which older son had said it was just too thin and even a girlfriend said it was not worth wasting my time on because even if I got it to sew -then the project would just wear out too quickly.  But- you know how stubborn I am and I paid good money for the fabric -so there . : )

I started off on the wrong foot and had a disagreement with that V-neck! I had to rip the first try completely out, but I took a small break and when I came back and tried once again - it went just right, so that made me so happy. I hope this can be something he can either wear in the summer -OR- maybe for hunting in the spring
when he always says his winter hunting clothes are too hot- I don't think I will have to worry about him being TOO HOT in this fabric. LOL

Boy! I have had a creak in my neck for the last 3 days and it hurts like crazy. Today I took a small heating pad that a friend from Tenn. had made for me 3 years ago. It is just a small -hand size - little pocket filled with rice that you stick in the microwave to heat and since it is small it fits right on that curve in your neck. I think it has been more comfort than a pain pill.  I think I better go heat it one more time. AWWWWHHHH! That's better.:)

These days are just flying by so I guess I better hop off and see what other kinds of trouble I can get into.I hope you guys are having good luck with your Christmas gifts.
Love- linda

DH's V-neck tee

Today was a mixture of things. It started out with my furbabies laying in the sun at the front door. I was very tired because I stayed up till 4:30 AM working on the jerky. Had to take two batches out of the dehydrators and then pull out the next two that I had in the refrigerator marinating and put them in the dehydrator for their 12 hour wait.

The last one was for DH and he wanted his in stick shapes instead of flat pieces like chewing gum. That was a problem for me because the nozzle on the little gun had that shape , but it took a LOT more pressure from me squeezing the gun and forcing it out. It really made my bursitis wake up and COMPLAIN! Still COMPLAINING- LOUDLY - I HATE PAIN!

Blondie is the light colored Mama of the other two daughters. They looked so comfortable it made me want to go lay down in the floor with them and let that warm sun ease the pain in my shoulder.

While I was having such a nice morning by being able to STAY HOME - and work in the sewing room - I discovered that a tragedy had occurred just 20 miles from our home. VA. Tech is a local college and they had two shootings today at noon and a college policeman was killed and a male was killed. They are keeping it kinda hush-hush as they investigate.It is such a tragedy to think that these families will be planning a funeral for Christmas. Maybe they will be able to tell every one more tomorrow. This is the same college that four years ago had the largest killing by 32 students and teachers were killed by one lone gunman. Then the next year a male student cut a girls head off and the next year two students were murdered as they just talked together and they have never found the killer - and now this. I am glad I do not have kids the age to go to college - I would not feel safe sending my children there. But, then I did not feel safe sending my children to public school because of all the bomb threats and such. I hate that we seem to live in such a violent society. Maybe that is one reason that I Crave the gift of staying at home.I believe that I am VERY LUCKY to have a home and I love every minute of it now.  Now that there is no violence at home - I consider it my very own playground! Lots of everything nice that I love to "play" with. I am so very blessed. : )

 In the midest of all that has gone on -some how I managed to pull off this long sleeve -V_NECK tee shirt for DH. This was that VERY thin fabric that DS could not give me any insight into - so I ironed it and that made it look a lot better. Something about the dye that was used-each different color was a different texture and even a different weight  and made it look like -rather a mess - until I did iron it.

I am still learning about these V-necklines. DH cannot STAND anything to touch his throat and he will pull a regular neck of a shirt way out of shape , even pulling till he has the back of the shirt half-way up his back and all out of shape. SO - I got the bright idea to test out the V-necklines, and I think it might just work out for him- IF - I can master the construction process. It actually came out decent-but ! I have decided that the sleeves are WAY too long and I will hopefully make an adjustment tomorrow night - I HOPE!

Well, kids -my bursitis is Killing me  - like a fire in my shoulder joints so I will bid you good night and hope you have had a lovely day - or night????? : )

Deb's fish shirt

What a day? This burning the candles at both ends is really rough. I had planned to have all my gifts made and be able to just sit back and enjoy it. Well, even if I am home enjoying it- that is better than being out in the "MOBS" of people -some act like they have lost their minds. They had a story on the news the other night about a person who pepper-sprayed a crowd at a mall and then disappeared. I think I had a little more compassion for the person with the spray-you just get tired of getting pushed and shoved and things grabbed out of your hands - I even had a man pull a big box off of a top shelf and drop it on me as I stooped to see something on the lowest shelf.. It seems like home is almost the safest place to be. No wonder more people are shopping online!

While I am attempting to try to keep up with my sewing I am still working on the jerky for Christmas. I have already worked up 32pounds of it and have 16 more pounds that will be ready to take off at 2AM. Yea- I know -terrible timing when you are losing sleep anyway-but I like to do it when everything is nice and fresh.

For the last 2 days we have been having rain out the ying-yang and when we went out today the river was wild and looking like it wanted to jump its banks.Now the temperature is dropping -down to 30 now with a wild wind and calling for a skip of snow-more than that around us.

I think I like this shirt that I just finished. It is a jersey so it is so nice and thin for the summer and instead of putting the fish in the center I tried putting them on each side and not in "THOSE" places. : )  I do love koi so very much - they are such beautiful creatures and very smart too. I had a young one in my 20 gallon tank on the bar that divides the kitchen and the living room. She was soooo very funny and they are easy to "spoil". She looked forward to her morning and afternoon meals -but if we had company and "neglected " her - well , let's just say if anybody walked by her tank she would do a BIG tail flop and who-ever was passing by would get drowned! LOL She was a real stinker! :)

I hope each of you have had a wonderful day. Enjoy the holidays as you love best.
hugs-linda

Debbie shirt

Gosh, this picture came out funny ?But it is a "red-work rooster" , except he is not red. LOL! My friend , Debbie and I have been friends many long years-near 40. We met in a funny way-both of our husbands were "young and dumb" and they would get together to party.One night they decided to take off to North Carolina so they told Debbie to call me and tell me not to expect them home early.

Well, Debbie had had a lot of heartbreak in her young life then -so she called my number and when I answered her-she very quickly spit out ,"our husbands are together and  have gone to N.C.)  Just as I opened my mouth to thank her - the phone went dead! Bang!  I was wondering if I had done anything to hurt her????? She told me years later that she was scared to death of me and she hung up before I could chew her out! Seems like my DH had been telling people that I was big as a barn and carried a mean two by four! !!! and Debbie was not taking any chances. LOL  After that when our DH's wanted to take off they would leave us to baby-sit each other and through the years our friendship just became more precious and probably saved both of our lives a time or two.  : )

I am quiet nervous about this fabric-it is a double knit and a medium weight-but since it is double knit it has a lot more stretch than I had planned for???? I have the most trouble remembering that Double knit is heavier and more stretchy and jersey is so darn thin -but rayon in it makes it stretchy -yet cotton does not stretch much at all?????

The good news would be it will not be wasted as she has a daughter who is larger than she is and she can always use clothes. : )

Well, I better hop to the kitchen and take off another run of the jerky!
Love to all! : )

Meagan's T-shirt

This will be for my youngest daughter-in-law and I got to work with that really neat pink fabric with the silver dots all over it. She is very computer savvy and I hope this might get a smile-after all chocolate is some girls best friend and medicine for the soul. I do know that certain dark chocolate is even good for diabetics.

The day was lovely and it clouded over this afternoon with a light mist of rain. DH had me working on the deer jerky. It took me half the day to locate my recipes because when the one computer crashed that was the one that I had the most recipes stored on-like a dummy.: )

I mixed up two batches first thing and then we had to go to town to mail the bills and grab ingredients for the next batch of jerky. We came home and I put the first, which was a basic jerky  in one dehydrator and mixed up the second barb-b-q batch and put that in the second dehydrator.

That took most of the evening  and then I washed all the equipment that I had mixed and the little gun that shoots the jerky out in a flat stick  . Then I mixed up two more batches of 8lbs each and put them in the fridge to marinate over night. That way I can take them out in the morning and put the next two batches in at that . time. I picked up the bags that I will need to put the finished jerky in to store them for Christmas . The grandkids really LOVE this stuff.` I bet they would NEVER dream in a thousand years how hard it is for a vegetarian to do. : ) But , life seems to be all about compromises of some kind or the other. : )

Well, it seemed to take most of the day to pull off the jerky mess and it is now after midnight and I am in the sewing room with a little peace and quiet. My want to finished this one up - but my can do is just fizzled!  IF ONLY I DID NOT NEED SLEEP! It just takes up too much time! : )

Would you belive that here it is December and when I stepped outdoors the earthworms were all hanging out all over the place. What a pleasant surprise! IF ONLY ALL WINTER could be just like this?????? : )

Dainelle's shirt

This will become our youngest granddaughter's shirt.  She has a little beagle that she rescued and she named her Molly.

This was the "sweetest" piece of fabric I had ever worked with . If I had known I would have purchased a little more-but when you order from the Internet -it is hard because you cannot touch it. It had pale silver dots all over it -it was So soft and it did not matter how you wanted to treat it - it loved you still. : )

Here it is a brand spanking new week-wonder what we will all do with it? I know that DH has to take our youngest son to the doctor tomorrow. I have got really disgusted with doctors and the amount of pain that he is still in - after Two years. I am beginning to think that they are all Quacks!

"Well, I better go fall in bed I am pooped. O SHOOT- I forgot that the deer meat is now ready to turn into jerky. ////???????????????????? Me and my brain.

Love to all!

Ashley's shirt

What a beautiful day! It was the last day of deer season for rifles and I know that the deer are glad, as am I.;0
There are two that are hanging tonight to be processed in the morning and DH wants me to turn one into jerky as Christmas presents for the grandkids.It is this time of year that I always wish I could "clone"myself and have some  help. LOL  But, I will worry about that tomorrow. I have spent the last few hours wrangling with those monthly bills once again .I am so glad that the months only come once a month! LOL

But, I have another shirt off of my list now. This one is a combination of the knit left over from DDL 's shirt the other day -AND- a piece of knit left over from her shirt last Christmas- SOOOO _ I tried to tie the colors from the sleeves and collar -to - the design on front. Both if these fabrics are a jersey knit and are very thin. I have a similar shirt to wear in the Summer and it is so lite weight that it makes me feel like I am naked. LOL  These are the shirts that you need when it so just dripping hot!

I don't think I have already said this, but-as I have been working with these last few designs I happen to realize that the Machine that Hates ME and has Hated me for the last 2 years has ALL of a sudden WORKED! I am afraid to say it out loud - but it has worked and not broken one thread or eaten one hole in the fabric  . I even got to make a trip to the bathroom and back and it was STILL WORKING!  I even had to change the bobbin twice and IT STILL WORKED!

So, I put my thinking cap on and realized that I had just tried these designs from a new digitizer and the site is called Dainty Stitches. My mind just cannot accept the thought that this one person might have just saved my sanity. If that is what it takes - I will gladly use her designs.  I really need to write and thank you.

Thank you for stopping by to visit . I love your company!
Love to all - Linda

A Gift Means So Much

Having friends is one of the greatest gifts that we are allowed on this lifetime on Earth. They are like candies - they come in all colors and flavors and with their own gifts that makes them so special from each other. I am SO grateful to all of my friends -both virtual and otherwise. When you share a interest with another that makes it so nice also and you can learn a lot about your interest and you can learn a lot about yourself and your friend.

Today was a pretty day and it was pet shop day and then to the mill for critter foods and that takes most of the day. When we got back home our mailbox was full-stuffed -I could barely pull the contents free. Most of it was junk , of course-but there was a white package that looked interesting and I had not ordered anything?????It was a package from Lynne!

Brother-in-law , Eddie had come over from W.Va. to hunt with DH tomorrow and after they ate I carried my prize possession to the sewing room with me.

Well, right off the bat I decided that I Must have Too much Kid still left in me. Have you ever noticed if you buy a toy for one and they ALWAYS love what contained it better??????????? Welllllll, these beautiful little kitties jumped out at me right off the bat. If those kitties JUST contained AIR- I was now Thrilled!

As I spread the kitty fabric back this lovely angel greeted me and I dearly Love angels! This one mystifies me because it smells divine! I do not know why or even how-but my nose just doubly loves her.It makes me think of when I was a little girl and Mama had a pretty , colorful string of multi-colored beads. These beads always SMELLED good. I loved them too- and although they are very fragil now -because I am almost 61and they have been around as long as I have. : )

 O MY! It takes a real sewing  Guru to be able to know this much about what your heart would desire!  O, and I know she is because I have seen her work! I am so thrilled to receive this! But, she really did outdo me with this:

Isn't it adorable! It looked like a little "container" to me. That top looked like the perfect "lid"and I did try to figure out how to open it. After a few minutes of being mystified! It hit me like a ton of bricks- a pin cushion! We both enjoy pin cushions. How cute was that! And how much fun it was for me! LOL                 


How Wonderful Are Our Friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  : )

Tracy's tye dye

This will be for my daughter-in-law#1 . She has always liked anything tye-dyed and I picked this up from fabric.com and it is a rayon knit jersey fabric. I knew that jersey would be thin - but this was a real challenge to sew. I took it really slow and easy - instead of listening to my brain that was telling me I needed to hurry- I pretended that was not true and only that I was going to enjoy each little stitch -and I did not make as many mistakes as usual. I guess I do not do good under pressure.

 It was sunny today but chilly as it did not get out of the 40s. But we were very lucky compared to places in California where they had winds up to 80 mph and they showed pictures of trucks blowed over & electricity was out everywhere. It really looked bad.

I have worked hard today with this shirt. I was not as happy with it as I thought I would be-you know how that is. But, I am going to count my blessings!
Love to all

Emmett's Green Lounge Pants

This is my project for today- a pair of Knit lounge pants that I think will work for Summer time. If you wonder about the "Customized"strip -that is where I neglected to get enough fabric (Grrrrr//// rrrr) and I had to "Patch" two small pieces together to manufacture one piece long enough for the front of the legs..

But , let me show you what "The Sewing Forces that be" throwed out for me to deal with today.

Sorry , it is blurry - but- you can still tell that the stitches are spaced nicely - - But- all of a sudden the machine just "changed"it's mind and this is what it wanted to do instead:

 Darn, still blurry -but you can see that NOW the stitches are Very close together and it did this all on its little ole self! No wonder my head is always in a spin.

All that fuss and yet, I did finally get them together. I only managed one other little boo-boo, as I was sewing the elastic in I manage to let it get twisted somehow -so I had to pull it back out and straighten the elastic and now it works right. You know that part in the tv stories about the safe cracker who puts his ear to the safe to HEAR the tumblers? For me it is kinda like that - only that click just doesn't happen and that is how I keep getting myself in trouble.So, If anybody has any EXTRA tumblers laying around out there - please send them to me. LOL

Ronnie lounge pants

AHHHHH! Another Perfectly lovely day. Not quiet as warm and the wind is rather stiff-but still a perfect day. I have completed another pair of lounge pants for one of the grandsons. He is like me in that we both seem to stay cold in the Winter time-so, I looked for him a piece of fabric that was the warmest I could find. I was so pleased to find this piece because it is SO warm and soft and fluffy inside.  Perfect for this small framed young man -That is UNTIL I discovered this.

I had already cut out one set of legs when I discovered that the fabric that was left  had this mess along the selvage  and into the fabric itself.  I was so disappointed. I remember looking at one bolt and discovering this and my friend that was with me picked up another bolt and it did not show any disfiguration. So, I guess it must have been on the inside of the fabric. O well, no matter how it got where ever it got and how I missed it- this is one time that I just have to live with it. I hate it.

After I discovered how to do the blind hem stitch I use it on most everything. I love it, but I have had a problem using it on the tops of lounge pants that have pockets.I sat down and studied it today before I sewed the top casing and I decided that where the needle sinks down into the folded pocket fabric -the thickness is too much for the needle to sink all the way through all of the fabrics. So, I caved in and just used a regular stitch.

I was pleased that I had paid attention to that little snag - ONLY - to discover that I had sewn the pockets in backwards! LOL

But I throwed my disappointment out the window and used it as a good excuse to sit down for a while as I ripped the casing all out to turn the pocket towards the front . My legs appreciated the break. Shame on them!

I finally got everything sewn together like it was suppose to do and thought about just folding them up-but- Lynne had taught me well that you really need to iron a project to set the stitches and just make it look better. After all the work you put into a garment then you really want to set them off! So, I pulled out the iron and worked on those stitches. Then I was more happy with them.

I got tickled with one of my dear friends -we were emailing of projects and she said she intended to have a pj day. So, I said I wanted one too and that way I could work on lounge pants- To which she replied that she meant a day to run around in her pj's all day! LOL   Isn't it funny how we can misinterpret things in our head! LOL

Camo hooded jacket

I had a very nice day. I am so in love with this beautiful weather! But according to the weatherman - it is about to change! I DON"T LIKE CHANGE!  :) When I was young I always loved the challenge of changes -but I have learned that I discovered my rut and I love it. : )

I kinda accidentally found this piece of fleece when I was looking for something else. Of course I made the mistake of reaching out to touch it and discovered its SOFT texture and it is also a heavier weight than what my little jacket is made out of .

Our youngest son has always loved camo colors so it is a personal challenge to me to try to find a new color or combination of colors to bestow on him each Christmas.. He lives in constant back pain now - so any little thing I can find to put a small smile on his face is a real joy to me.

This jacket and I have a "relationship" of trying to understand each other. It started out when I looked for the proper size zipper and found that I had one in green and I thought green would work ok -with the browns.So, I used green thread also - until it came time to sew the zipper in and discovered that I had looked at the size wrong and I now had a bright yellow zipper instead????? NOT a bright idea for a young man's camo jacket in my book.

As I sat pondering my dilemma, my eyes happened to rest upon the first little lightweight fleece jacket that I had made under Lynne's tutorship. I have had it for 6 years now and I still love it to death.It is not good for COLD weather , but I keep hoping I will figure out a way to make a fleece jacket that is able to do that. Plus, I adore it because I am its co-creator. I was the creator behind the drunk needle!LOL

 As my eyes wandered over my treasure I noticed that it had a Brown zipper in it! This was because the first time I got stuck in my jacket -Lynne had to cut me out of it- and thus when I got the money to purchase a new zipper - the only one I could find in my area was a Brown zipper at that time..

Hummmm?????My eyes went from one to the other and back Several times. It was no trouble to cut the zipper out and I did apologize to my green jacket . I did manage to sew the brown zipper in the brown jacket. But when it come to putting the Yellow zipper in the green jacket - I guess it was mad at me because I ended up sewing the zipper in-but when it came to the bottom where you hook the two parts together ----- I had curled them under the jacket and thus I could not hook them together at all. Yep- that jacket was pretty mad at me. : (   It took me a few tries- but I finally did get my head screwed on right and managed to get BOTH jackets with each one a zipper  and now I am happy! Another Christmas present completed! Yea! : )