Tuesday, January 31, 2012

What A Mixed Bag of Tricks

these last few days have been? I went from trying to draft a shorts pattern for my sister-in-law & because the knit was stretched out of shape they had given me a few "head scratching" times -almost to the point of throwing it all in the trash- to

Actually completing a pair of size XXXL shorts -all completed. But , they fought me every stitch of the way. Now , I just need to see how they fit before I make my final  conclusion.

Remember we had taken the embroidery machine to a new man only 28 miles from us. Well, that is another funny story. We took it last week- and we picked it up yesterday . He said that it gave him a FIT & that he had tried to call us 3 times last week to tell us to come get it . LOL  BUT - it turned out that our phones were out of order & we did not know it -until a girlfriend finally figured out a way to get a hold of us to tell us what was wrong.

Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes. LOL


This was my excuse for not saying hi last night. Our youngest grandson & his Mom & Dad came by for a visit- well, they brought us some groceries & they were deeply appreciated . They brought some bananas so I made everybody a banana smoothie. We ate them but they were not so great because the bananas had a green taste to them & I had run out of banana extract that I could have added to help overcome the green taste. But , none of us wasted them . He is 14 months old now - how time does fly?

Just like tonight - I had tried numerous times to send the pictures I have taken of them -but for some reason the computer would just freeze up- stubborn like a mule.
So, I got the bright idea that I would put them on a flashdrive -why in the world I had not tried that before now????????????????? I went though all of my digital pictures & I think they will be amazed at some of them that I do not think they know about. But, you know how it is when you get lost in time & the next thing I knew  another day had slipped away as that clock hand went over the midnight hour & here it is 2:30 in the morning? GRRRR!
So, love to you all & hope you can keep up with your day better than I seem to. : -)
.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Thank goodness for my little guardians


It was cold here today & with the wind blowing -the cold hurt too much to take my walk, so I finished my chores & went in to feed DH &myself . But his stomach was hurting -we sat & watched a tv program & for the 3rd time in my life - I heard my husband cry. The first time was when his sister was shot by her husband who then shot himself too. DH could not find closure because the person he wanted to kill himself was now gone-so he bundled that anger up & carried it with him for years.

The second time I saw my husband cry was when his Mama died. She was always his best friend & when he lost her -he lost a piece of his heart. I knew what that felt like because when my Mama died , I knew what it felt like to be an Orphan-it was horrible.

So , now with this monster called cancer -it is such a terrible event to deal with. When someone you love is facing a battle like that - neither of you have any kind of "manual" to follow - you just take it one step at a time, and sometimes those steps are slippery..

I decided I would work on that pair of shorts for his sister for her birthday this week & I really tried hard, BUT- when it came time to sew the crotch seam & it would not match up - I discovered that I had sewn two front pieces together & two back pieces together. One of my mistakes that usually tries to haunt me. I knew it was because my mind was not paying attention to what I was doing. My "want to" and my "can do" -just were not on the same page.

I am not sharing this with you for sympathy - I think it is because I know that we ALL will have to face this sooner or later and I do not have an answer to how to behave.I think that the one thing to hang onto is that love is the answer . She binds us all together in this experience we take.

I love you guys.;-)

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Kat's shorts pattern

My sister-in-law's birthday has snuck up on me! It is this week & I have not come up with a pattern from the shorts that she gave me to make them by. My problem is I am concerned that since it is a knit fabric that is very stretchy - I do not know if it fits her according to the fabric's relaxed shape -OR- when the fabric is stretched to fit??????

So I use my ruler to go around the shorts seam allowance , adding 5/8 of an inch & hoping . You would think this would be a piece of cake - BUT - it took me 3 hours to take apart her shorts! Those stitches just did not want to come apart. They had decided that they were to be united until the very end &  they gave a run for my money. My bursitis in my right shoulder was really screaming at me by the time I had finished taking them apart.

Ok, here's the first one , now onto the front part. Our weather today was lovely -a little chilly but I managed to hang out our laundry & it dried in no time flat because of the steep breeze.That's one way to clear your head. LOL

Well, you should know by now that I Always have to get myself into some kind of trouble & this time It just happened to be with my rotary cutter. It just quit rolling & I thought it was packed with too much lint behind the blade so I took it apart to clean it & yep-couldn't figure out how to get it back?? I know I got lost on this project for 45 minutes. I finally went online looking for fiskars rotary assembly . The fiskars site was no help-they had a written explanation that did me NO Good because I am a visual person . Finally I accidentally stumbled onto a blog(thank goodness for blogs) and got a description with pictures. The funny part was that it looked just like what I had been doing -but for some reason it just started to roll???????I guess that "sewing fairy" decided to give me a break???
http://sewingnovice.com/2011/04/08/changing-a-rotary-cutter-blade/http://sewingnovice.com/2011/04/08/changing-a-rotary-cutter-blade/
thanks to her blog I was finally up and trying again.

You can see that while I was lost in the battle with Mr. Rotary that Miss Rosie was very happy to take charge of the fabric for me . She REALLy got into that job!

You might say that she thinks she is the "cat's meow" & I would agree with her. Even when she takes a "catnap" - while on duty - she always keeps one eye open.

With all of the help I have had I finally got my first pair of shorts cut out, but I am too tired to tackle the next lesson they will teach me! ALL DAY LONG! For one project .

By discovering that my Sister-in-law's birthday is this week - I ALSO DISCOVERED that January is coming to an end. Hum? This is the month that I always plan to hide away & read a book or do some crocheting or do some house projects -but some how it just always flys by at neckbreak speed. So, it is a good thing that I have learned to cherish each day that comes my way. :-)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

A few of my buddies

I have not got to sew today as I had a buddy drop in . We did come to the sewing room & as I started pulling out treasures looking for something -she was amazed & we both just got captured by the magic.So , I decided to introduce you to some of my "other buddies" . LOL

I did have a "quirky" moment this morning. I had read an article that said IF you would drink the juice of 3 carrots -you could help prevent macular degeneration with your eyes. My eye doctor has spotted what he thought to be the start of it 3 years back & I do not want it to steal my sight. I have a very cheap -old juicer which I pulled out of storage. I had washed up the carrots & one apple that we had left. I sliced them to where they would all fit down the hole into the machine.  I even remembered to put a glass to catch the juice coming out - instead of forgetting to like I do 90% of the time -with me squealing while the juice runs all over the counter top into the floor -so I was pretty proud of myself as I put iced cubes in the juice & diluted it with water. I had decided to make a small 9x 9 cake with the pulp. 

I opened the machine & was scooping the top of the pulp down into a bowl & I discovered that the rest was slices of carrot & apple- not pulp -but big slices of the carrot & the apple. I still cannot figure out how it did that -other than to say that machines hate me.lol

Thank goodness that my "critters" do not!
I did  get that carrot cake made though & DH & James & I enjoyed it for supper. :-)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Doggie arm chair remote caddy

This is the fabric I picked today to work on for another remote caddy. I had picked up this piece of fabric last year when Lynne took me with her in a "shop-hop".
Today here the weather was beautiful & warm. People were just wearing short sleeves- in Winter-Time.???

I had my left-over soup for breakfast this morning-Yum. Of course DH & James had eggs & sausage. I'm not one bit jealous of them. LOL

Then late in the afternoon I fixed them macaroni  in  tomatoes& tomato juice. You just cook your macaroni in water . I poured that water off & drained the macaroni . While I was waiting for that to drain I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter in the same pan. I dumped the macaroni back in the butter & coated them a little. Then poured in a can of tomatoes &  can of tomato juice - plus salt & pepper - 1/4 cup of sugar( I like to omit that but DH has to have it-no matter how bad it is for him. . I added a teaspoon of celery salt. Then to set it off - I made toast with butter melted on it & VERY LIGHTLY sprinkled garlic powder on the toast.

DH & I Both - hate garlic-but in this particular dish - it just sets the macaroni off! I you Love garlic , by all means add More .

TaDaaaaaaaaaaaa! Another caddy& it looks decent. Well, I gotta get ready for bed & I have to fix DH's coffee for in the morning- I add all the ingredients & DH hits the button in the morning  . Plus I am going to make a loaf of bread in the bread machine tonight. I like it that way as it will be finished by morning & cooled off -thus making it easier to slice it.

Love to all!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Hello, Hello, Hello

Another beautiful day has come & gone FAST. It was a pleasantly warm day , but -as I was doing outdoor chores this morning I happened to notice that my daffodils are up-and this certainly is not April!!!!!!!!! I love the warm weather - and I also love my flowers & have never seen this before in my lifetime. I am hoping that they will not get killed ??????????????????????????

Gosh, I did house work , I did laundries, I fixed DH & James supper. DH was the one who helped me figure that one out. I had fixed a crockpot of kidney beans , not knowing why - I could only remember that I needed kidney beans for something?  DH came through the kitchen & saw Something in the crockpot & asked IF that was to be a pot of chili beans? As I came into the kitchen it hit me that was a very good idea. Nice & fast .

Another First for me was that I needed onions for the chili & did not have any -until DH mentioned he had seen some in the garden ?????? I thought we had pulled all of them in the Fall?? But he went down & carried back a nice handful. Even after a wicked freeze here lately - after I peeled the top layer off of them - they were wonderful ??? How about that -fresh onions in the dead of Winter?????????????????????? LOL

It did not take long to saute the onions and add peppers that I had frozen from the garden & then throw in the deer burger & add seasonings & it was completed. They scarfed it down & headed outdoors again. The perfect time for me to run the vacuum again & capture more mud. I wanted to get through the dirty parts before I took a shower.

Then I came out nice and clean & fixed me a Healthy Soup  that I had never tried before. I Love soups & this one was suppose to be enough for one person . That way I could test it & decide IF I should offer DH any.  It had onions & broccoli & spinach & tofu &mushrooms &  noodles in it . It looked so pretty & not like anything I had before.

My decision was that it is TERRIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O YUMMY- the best thing I have put in my mouth since November when I had those top teeth pulled.O YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had one small bowl & one of those green monster muffins from yesterday & I was thrilled at how good food could be.

More dishes later I fixed DH & myself another one of those safflower toddies & I have found a frozen orange juice in the freezer so we had that to chase it down . So, day two -the toddy is accomplished & again I feel so satisfied & have NO munchies!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippeeee !

This is my two pieces of fabric that I got yesterday at The Schoolhouse Fabrics. They are both knits -yet very different from each other. The Tweety Bird is a baby double knit & it is soft with some stretch. This one I will turn into a pair of lounge pants for either my d-in-law or my granddaughter????? They both enjoy anything Disney.

The second piece is a cotton knit with   Lycra . This is suppose to help it not pucker up on your knees???? I am looking forward to testing it out. I do have a shirt that a friend gave me & it has lycra in it & it does NOT wrinkle at all & I love it. 


I have not heard from the sewing machine "doctor" & I am wondering if that evil machine of mine could have murdered him in his own shop?????????????????????????  We will see?  


I will leave you now & Many Happy Stitches to you!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Doggie arm chair remote

Gosh , family - I did not mean to get lost, but I certainly did accomplish that. I actually got lucky this morning & got all of the outdoor chores accomplished & hit the sewing room Before DH woke up. I was VERY pleased with myself.

I managed to complete this remote caddy this morning & I meant to post it then. But DH woke up & wanted to eat & you know how that is -then you have dishes & bla, bla, bla!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next we jumped ship & took off up in the mountains to Floyd where there was suppose to be a sewing machine repair man. Of course he was closed. I copied down the information on the door & told DH that since we were in Floyd could we stop at the School House Fabric store. He laughed & said he knew we could not leave the little community of Floyd without stopping there.

Once we pulled into their parking lot - I placed a call to the sewing man! Told him we had missed him & how could we get the machine to him. First he said -come back tomorrow & then when I told him we were at the fabric store -he was tickled & he said to take it in & leave it with Jerry -the owner/manager & anything else that needed to be done. He said then he would pick it up tomorrow.

Well, Jerry is one of the sweetest fellows on the planet . While there I picked out two pieces of fabric to start on Christmas presents & have them in the wash machine now.

I was getting ready to post & was checking emails -when I noticed that I had a note from Fabric. com -where I had been checking out their sales last nigh. She said that I had put things in my shopping cart & not completed the sale & they would take off 15% if I would complete my order. LOL
Well that was my downfall tonight as I got lost in a fabric store online for HOURS & of course I added more to my cart because if you purchase35.00 -then you have free shipping.

So of course my order is completed , my project is completed, my dumb embroidery machine is waiting at the
machine doctors waiting to see the doctor  & my day is gone too - already on to another day & my eyeballs say GO TO BED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

O, but one more little note : This afternoon we stopped at a little health food store in Floyd & I managed to pick up a bottle of Safflower Oil. I don't know if you happen to remember the story I told about watching a program on tv  by a Dr. Oz about the benefits of this oil. He said to take two teaspoons of it each day to get rid of "belly fat".

So, as soon as we returned home I told DH that we were both going to try it & see what happens. As you know belly fat is one of the worst fats we can have . I put two little caps out with two teaspoons in each little cup. I gave each of us a wee little glass of tea to help wash it down with. We gagged & sputtered like two wimps, but we got it down. I was thinking we need some orange juice to wash it down . I went on in to the sewing room for a while& it was the time of the afternoon at dark when we both usually get the munchies. But, DH came by & asked, " is that stuff suppose to take our appetite away?" I told him ,no - not as I know.  I had fixed a little pan of muffins (but he did not know they had spinach in them) & I took one of them & we have dear James back helping DH this week - do the heavy stuff. So, they did munch on the muffins & said they were Good.( I will not tell them that they were good for them!) LOL But, that one satisfied me one hundred percent.  So, instead of a big serving of muffins - one satisfied me ?? I certainly do not know if it will work this way every night - but I will let you know.

OK, off to bed I go & send love to each of you!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Owl armchair remote caddy

On my caddy today I experimented with a different stitch to close my edge that I turned from. I like it better. It is a slightly cold day today , everything is SO very wet. The ground is saturated -in some places packed down & in other places very slippery where the ground is soft.The way I go to the chicken house is a mess because that is the way that DH brings in wood with his truck & the truck really tore up the land. Mud??????? I HATE mud! LOL

I have a pain in my right side -down very low - & it is driving me nuts. I have been online searching for answers. I just want it to GO AWAY!



I do like this caddy-it will be a Christmas gift for one of my young friends . She has graduated college & is working two jobs.  Another plus for this project is that the fabric is so very soft to the touch. One nice thing about doing several projects of the same type is that I do get better with each one & learn of boo-boos to watch out for.

Sending love
Linda

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Kitty cat armchair remote caddy

Another week already gone by the wayside. Yes, I am still working on my remote caddy's. Everyone I tackle I bump into lessons along the way. Still not a perfect one Yet- but you never know until you try& try & try. :-)
This one I only top-stitched each end & for some reason I like it better.

It has been cool & rainy here all day long. The ground is so saturated that I almost go "rain-skiing " when I step outdoors,so I do not step outdoors any more than I have to. I fixed us oatmeal for breakfast & I ate the last of my blueberries ,that I love so much. DH fixed himself  so eggs & applesauce afterwards for a "snack". It is aweful when you eat & do not get satisfied. For supper I fixed us some rice & celery soup that I like on a "tender stomach". I locked the chickens up so they would be safe for another night & I can keep DH in eggs. LOL ..

I like this caddy a lot , but of course probably because it has a "critter" on it & blue & yellow are my favorite colors. :-)

Love to All.

Friday, January 20, 2012

We Do What We Can- When We Can

This is another one of those "road-runner" days- run to town - run to the mill for critter feed & for flour for us.Of course it made the day just fly by. O, DH took James home for the weekend -or so they said. LOL  I will wait & see what  happens. I miss having him in the house with his sweet , quiet ways. It reminded me of things that our youngest son & I use to do together. It was nice .

But after we got back home I locked up all the chickens . It got dark early tonight - the sky was loaded with dark heavy clouds and now it is pouring down a Cold rain as the temperature is right on freezing. I am so grateful that I do not have to go away from home in the morning. I am so blessed.

So, this afternoon I made it to the sewing room & decided to cut out a few of the arm chair caddies , now that I am happy with their size. I think I have 3 of them cut out  & I used up all of the white canvas that I was using in the center.

I did try to get in contact with the lady whose DH is suppose to work on machines . I had missed her at work yesterday & when I called back today they said she had already left-so I tried her home phone number & left her a message. DH said if we do not hear from her soon we will just have to take the machine to a dealer in another state. That is definitely one Monster Disadvantage to having a Brother machine -there is no service dealer anywhere near us & the two we have found the last two years was just not worth finding. Darn it! If only I knew how to fix the hateful things????????????  Or if only I had the big bucks to buy a Janome or a Bernina  as we have two excellent dealers almost in our back yard. But, it is what it is & that is that! :-)

I also need to find time to work on making a shorts pattern for my sister-in-law. The patterns I have are too small & she brought me a pair if Knit shorts & you know how confusing it is trying to make a pattern from knits. I do not know IF the shorts fit her -with the fabric relaxed -or- if they fit because they stretch to where they are comfortable. My wee little brain is in a dither & she has a birthday coming up in two weeks so I better figure something out before then.

I will bid you all a due!!!!!!!!  
Take time to smile - it is so good for you!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Larger American Armchair Remote Holder Caddy

I got a lot accomplished today , considering how my day was spread all over the place. I did morning chores (it was Cold & there was a Heavy frost on this morning.  I finished chores & took my walk that I had been neglecting ,up the hill & back. I had to pause a few times to try & catch my breath as the cold air hurt to walk in. As I was walking I heard the scutter in the leaves & saw the cutest squirrel fleeing across the leaves -like I was a bandit intruding his space this morning. I walked a little further & heard more sounds in the leaves so I paused to try & see what it could be this time. My eyes are not as good as they have been & it took me a little while to spot the noise. It was a little doe deer Hobbling along up the hilll.  It made me so sad & I wished I could help ease her pain. The only thing I could think to do was to pray for her & visualize flooding colors of yellow gold flooding her body.  Then I moved on & came to the house & we all ate. Then I headed to the sewing room & decided that since I was not pleased with my remote caddies I would just draft me a new pattern to play with.

But before I could pull that off we had to leave to go meet DH's sister at her doctor appointment & that took up the rest of the afternoon.It was getting dark as we headed back to the house. When we arrived I went on up and locked up the chickens.

Then I went back to work on my idea on the caddies & this is what I came up with -compared to the first ones that are smaller.



  Yes I think I like this much better so that you could use it for a variety of uses.

O yes, I like the way it lays on the arm of the chair  better now. Yes, it does take more fabric -but I think this is what I will do from now on.

O , one thing I am so pleased that I have noticed is that our days are getting Longer- yipppeeeeee!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Just One Of Those Days

Maybe we should be a little more like our pets (this is my Cocoa) & learn to live in the moment ,especially if we consider , the moment is the only thing that we can deal with now. Yesterdays are gone & tomorrows are not here Yet. I remember one time when I as younger that it hit me I was spending all of my time wishing the next month was almost here because that was when we would get paid. It made me realize that using that clock - my life was quickly slipping away- and I did not want that to happen.

Today was another one of those days that just flew by. I managed the morning chores & feeding us & then getting us ready for DH's doctor visit & my counselor. His doctor visit was a little strange because after we got to see the doc -she said that she had written down - No Appointment & yet there we were?So they took DH back in the back to the lab & after a half an hour wait they gave him some kind of shot . The nurse said that the shot last week was to help his bones & ready him for what ever this shot was today? I was very confused & as we left I made a mental note to myself that the next visit I was going to ask how he really is doing??????????????????

As we headed to the next town for my counselling we stopped at two Goodwill's to check for our young friend who is staying with us this week - to see if we could find some  jeans for him.  After two stores we only found one pair & they had been really distressed- even if that is the popular look , these were wore around the bottom hem & all around the waistband . There was one place that almost had a hole , so I darned that before it grows! He seemed very pleased & I only wished it was more, after all he has done to help us.

By the time we got home it was dark again & the day was gone. I fixed us some fish soup & crackers &  the guys had peanut butter sandwiches . I was so tired . I pushed my mind over to the side as it tried to scream at me how tired I was &  just dove  right into the dishes so they would not multiply over night!

Something about going to town just totally exhausts me. Tomorrow will be another one of those days for me as we are going to meet DH's sister & her husband as she is coming our way for a doctor visit with her back. I have decided that we just lease these bodies 7 taking care of them is a read challenge. My body & I often have disagreements about what we want to do?????????????????????

O, Let me share a few more of those blogs with you.
http://girlsinthegarden.blogspot.com/
http://frogsinabucket.blogspot.com/
http://missceliespants.com/
http://kbenco.blogspot.com
http://allisoncsewinggallery.blogspot.com/
http://scpbanks.blogspot.com/

As I checked some of these out - just to make sure that the links worked -I enjoyed one of them for 52soups. I LOVE soups so that was neat.
Leaving for now & Be Happy :-)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

A Fishie Remote Caddy

I really Hate to waste left-overs because you never know when they might come in handy-When I pulled this blue strip out I knew it would be perfect to make the binding for the pockets with this project.

Well - I got the blue sewn on and discovered my first b00-bOO!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yep, fishies do not normally swim upside down & no matter what a good job I had done with a nice straight seam -- I had to do it over . :-(  There was just BARELY enough fish fabric to cut out two more pockets.

See , I did finally get it right. But AFTER I had finished I Discovered  Another bad mistake. On the other side there was a HOLE in the very front of the pocket right at the fish's belly. I was SO miffed at myself -why in the world did I not see that to start with. Yes, I am having trouble with my eyes -but surly I should have seen that hole. Darn It.

I pulled out my thread & needle and gently sewed the hole closed. I am leery of it through because the threads of the fish wanted to pull loose-so when I finished I used some fabric glue on it Inside of the pocket  , so I will be curious to see what the results will be???????

You can see my manager came in for the final inspection. Bless his heart - he has been outside with me finishing chores and he needs a bath. All of this mud is driving me crazy- oops - that is just a short walk for me. LOL
Happy Sewing trails to you!

Monday, January 16, 2012

American armchair remote caddy

Where in the world did this day go to???? Outside chores , breakfast , cleaning up & running the vacuuming several times today as every time the guys went outdoors and returned with their muddy boots -it was getting to be a mess.

Our young friend , James went out this after noon and cut a big truck load of wood. He does such a good job & is so kind to help two older pains. : -)  I wanted to go down & help him pick up the wood & load it onto the truck to bring to the house, but - I was working on fixing him some supper. If I do not have money to give to him - I am trying to at least feed him good. 

I had read this morning that IF I would juice 3 carrots a day it would help me prevent macular degeneration , which was what my eye doctor had spotted just showing signs of 3 years ago. I need to go back for a recheck & glasses because I am having trouble seeing again. So, I decided to attempt the carrots. My sister-in-law had given me a Bullet ,which is a small multi-purpose appliance that chops up stuff . I had notice one small canister that looked like a juicer to me. You know Mechanical things hate me - well, sure enough I got in trouble with it too. I put it together and turned it on and NOISE - loud noise as it screamed at me.

I tried once again & same thing all over again. It smelled of plastic & I decided that the blade was cutting into the plastic as it whirled around, SO I took it apart and put the Other blade in it and Same thing????? I looked everywhere for a paper of instructions & could not find any , so I kept fiddling until I got it co-operating . I washed my carrots & inserted the first one and I could see that it did "Mulch" the first one , so I inserted the second one only to have it be practically jerked out of my hand & end up wedged in side ways and on top of that there was not a sign of juice anywhere??????

Desperate people do desperate things -so I went hunting and pulled out of the basement a old juicer that I had in storage. It is not an expensive one, but bless its little heart it did come to life & did a good job of getting me some carrot juice. By now I have learned to dilute my fresh juice & it did not take but about 5 swallows to down it. The pain is cleaning up all of the machinery I had in my wake. That took almost an hour to accomplish. While I was searching for papers I had ran across a little book of recipes that said not to waste the trimmings & it had a recipe for a small carrot cake. I hauled out all of the ingredients , except I did not have any pineapple -so I substituted a little tangerine I found in the bottom of the veggie drawer. All of this mixing & hunting & Washing utensils takes another hour. 

By now my good intentions to help James has fallen by the wayside because he has already come to the house and unloaded the wood. As he is walking by the building he discovers water spraying everywhere?????????DH goes out to check and discovers that a water line has frozen & burst .They have to run to town to get some supplies to fix that . See what I mean about Always Something going on??????????

They get that fixed and I finish vacuuming for the 3rd time. I went to the chicken house & gather the eggs & lock up the chickens so nobody will attempt to eat them while we sleep. It is hard to keep chickens between the hawks , owls , foxes, coyotes, wolves & last but not least - humans! Two years ago some human came while we had gone to town and stole all 22 that I had in one house! I am still mad over that because that was my favorite rooster. I had raised him from a baby & his color was titled a Splash - he looked like he had pokeadots all over him -and he was so dear to me. : -(

With dark setting we all come in & have supper. I had fixed a veggie shepherd's pie with baked beans & the carrot cake for dessert. Of course I ate too much & my tummy is saying that it is far smarter than my head -or I would not have put too much in there. LOL


After I cleaned up the kitchen I waddled into the sewing room and managed to produce this American armchair remote caddy. I tried really hard to get things right , but after I was finished - I Hated it. So, I carried it into the living room where my #1 tester was enjoying his favorite pastime - TV. I handed it to him and asked  for his opinion . It looked good on the arm of the chair - but , I am just real dissatisfied with it.

I remember that I made one for my deaf friend years ago and he Loved his. Seems like I made it fatter & longer so that you could tuck the one side under the cushion of the chair to secure it.By being larger he put the remote on one side and then stored some tissues for easy access??????  Do any of you guys have any thoughts??????

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Look what snuck in last night

Yep, it certainly did- I always tell DH that it always snows in the nigh-time so I cannot get to see it fall. After all , that is the only part about snow that I enjoy - watching those little snowflakes come tumbling down to earth and even seeing if I can catch one with my tongue.But as far as the cold, wet and dirty part - I do not like anything to do with that .But, we get what we get & that is that. We have our young friend , James with us . He was going to help cut firewood but none of us knew this stuff was coming & then DH woke up sick yesterday morning & he slept all day and all night. James took the night shift feeding the wood stove & I took the morning shift . I went out to do morning chores and this stuff was everywhere. This is at the little chicken house as I went up to let them out. But they poked their little  heads out and refused to budge except to get a nice Warm drink of warm water I had brought them.

After I fed and watered everybody I  stopped to catch my breath and could not help but admire the little birdhouse that DH made me two years ago. Last summer it had some of the cutest little birds raise a family in it.

I was glad I was finished outdoors so I let the crisp wind nudge me along to the house. Inside everybody was still sleeping and that was fine by me. I tiptoed past them into the sewing room-YEA! For the next two hours to myself I rummaged through my cotton collection searching for materials to work some more on these arm chair caddies. After I had some sorted out I pulled out my iron and went to ironing the wrinkles  out of them. Hum? there are some nice pieces in here - things might go right .

Then just as I was about to iron the last piece - yep - you guessed it -DH was up. So much for my nice quiet morning of sewing -but at least it was a start. I went out and fixed my oatmeal while they fixed their eggs & bacon. Then I spent the next hour washing dishes and putting some order back to the little kitchen.

They both went outdoors for a while so I decided to fix a new recipe I had picked up for minestrone. It called for lots of veggies & that took a while to chop them all up. After that was on the stove to simmer I put together a peach pie -the kind that makes its own crust, yea I know -lazy me ,but they will be happy to just have a treat.

While I was working on that pie I noticed that my big aquarium was not right. I went over to feed them , but I could see stuff floating around in the water -making it murky. O SHOOT! My plans did not include a day to work on an aquarium-but this was one of those "have to " cases .Either fix it -OR- watch my fish die & that was not about to happen.

For the next hour I tore the canister filter down and cleaned all of its parts & thought I was almost finished as I hooked it back to the tank. I flipped the reconnect button AND - water squirted everywhere it was NOT suppose to. I was stunned for a minute as I was not expecting that. I unhooked everything once again and carried it back to the sink . I thought I had installed some of the baskets wrong -so I took them all out and cleaned them & put them back in the opposite way.

Time to see if it was going to work , but this time I went hunting for some kind of container to set the canister in -just in case again. Water is NOT Good for hardwood floors and I cannot get up under the shelf that the aquarium sets on. Good thing I did because once again -water squirted everywhere again.

I disconnected everything again and found the information on the canister and sat down to read and try to figure out what the problem could be. While I had my head in the pamphlet DH said he bet it was the gasket. So, I took everything apart one more time and pulled the gasket out and reinserted it-changed the little baskets and prayed all the way to the aquarium! I was scared to death to reconnect everything . But prayer do work and it took off like it was suppose to ! YEA! By the time I cleaned up the living room from where I had tore it up working  and we ate and I washed dishes and yep- here I am and the day is gone- AGAIN!
I am BEAT!

SO, I will bid you adue!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Remote control caddy

I started out today attempting to draft a pattern.I had visited a blog that has a sewing project of running each month &  found her to be very enticing .
 http://liz-moments.blogspot.com/2http://liz-moments.blogspot.com/2012/01/friday-finish.html
This month it is arm chair caddy.  Most of them are sewing caddies for those people who sew and stick your pins in the chair arm. I do not know any people who do hand sewing -but I decided it would be a perfect start to Christmas presents by turning it into a tv remote caddy.

I wanted some kind of stabilizer -so I substituted some denim that I had scraps left over from some pants . Having storage for scraps is tough, but I do try. I have a plastic bag that I have them in right now - Yea- I know -really high tech isn't it??? LOL

 It is amazing how much time you can put into even the smallest project- but , it is a neat feeling to lose yourself into one!

It took all afternoon to complete it. I am not satisfied with it , but it will work for now. Maybe if I sleep on it my brain will figure out what I need to do now.

Talk about sleep - now that it is bed time I need to go feed the stove , BUT - I just peeked out the door and we have a good inch of fluffy snow everywhere. Talk about a sneak attack!!!!!!!!!!!!   : )

Friday, January 13, 2012

More blog links

Hi gang,
Another day has come & gone too swiftly. I got up late and worked on critter stuff all day long . We had cornbread & buttermilk  or cornbread and beans. Both of them were good and filling. The weather has turned blue-blazing Cold! I Hate it, but there is nothing I can do about it-other than complain. That beautiful warm weather really spoiled me.So many of my spring flowers had popped out and I fear for their survival.I will just have to wait and see.

Since I have been swamped all day & not got to see I thought I would offer you some more of those sewing blogger blogs.

http://themahoganystylist.blogspot.com
http://wesewretro.com
www.sewtawdry.blogspot.com
www.mushywear.blogspot.com
I guess I should leave off with these . I hope you have had a wonderful day. I am still waiting for the lady to email me back about if her husband will work on my Lemon embroidery machine.  Three years I have had her & this will make 3 times to see a machine doctor-what does that tell you????

It is so cold and I am hurting all over from head to toe- mostly from my fibromyalgia - it really does not like cold. LOL
love to all
linda

Thursday, January 12, 2012

First Sewing Guild Meeting of the new year

Check out some of my treasures that I picked up tonight at our Sewing Guild meeting . Lynne was kind enough to pick me up and we spend that hour drive catching up . The weather was beautiful going down -people were outdoors in their shirt-sleeves . The meeting was great -the subject was sewing blogs . I was surprised that there were only 3 people who did the presentation and me . I did not see any other hands . The information was very helpful to those who have yet to jump in this sewing blog world.

They have a table of books & also a table of patterns & I am thrilled to be allowed to enjoy these beautiful things.After the presentation they had Sew & Tell and we got to see what everybody had been up to. There were quilts and purses and totes and lounge pants and my favorite was a little tiny "felted bracelet".

I picked up the pattern for children because those great-grand children of ours will be going into these sizes by next Christmas?????

They gave us a handout of some of the sewing blogs that they enjoyed and I have never visited any of them so I thought I would drop the information , just in case you have a minute some day to be curious.
http://sewchic.blogspot.com
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2
http://theslapdashsewist.blogspot.com
http://miaslandiv.blogspot.com
http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com
http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com
http://joypatch.blogspot.com

I hope that you have had a lovely day too !
Until we meet again! Nite!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Woe Is Me Once Again

Yep, this is the project I was pouring myself into tonight. Already tired and was just "hoping" I could pull it off. WRONG! I was halfway through the design when it went to breaking threads Again. But, I babied it and did not get upset with it-believing if Only I could have patience I could accomplish my goal-Wrong once again.

But all of a sudden it made the most hideous screech and shivered all over and well, to be truthful - it was all over. It shivered so hard that it almost yanked the project from the hoop. Still I thought -Maybe???? Let's just try a few things . I tried pulling the front off of the machine because sometimes It would get a thread hung on a spring and scream at me. But -no - no string. Then I thought maybe on that little box on top that you have to remove the cover to get to- so I carefully removed the little box and took off one of the screws-but no everything looked good there? I tried to put the little box back on, but I could not get the little screw to co-operate, no matter how hard I tried. I even went and checked out DH's screwdriver collection and OF Course all of his were gone. Pooh!

 Well, ladies - this is what some of your machines look when they are a little naked. Knowing it was beyond saving - I tried the needle up and down for the last time and it just shivered at me. I did manage to "accidentally" save the design in the machine. Then I tried turning the machine off and then back on - Nope - won't budge- it is just "stuck" royally........why in the world does this machine hate me so much????? At least the good thing is that that it is not a week before Christmas with projects all lined up-that must be the silver lining behind this dark cloud.

Well, it is after midnight and I am doubly pooped! I have to go outdoors and feed the woodstove and go lock up the chickens -hoping the rain will let up so I can see and hoping I do not fall on the mud and get all messy.  I am leaving and hoping that we can see what tomorrow brings.
love to all! :)

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

One step at a time.

My Dh wearing his lounge pants made from the fabric that my "cyber-sister" sent to us for Christmas. This flannel is so nice- so soft and comfortable and I was so thrilled to receive it. Boy, fabric really flew out the shelves here . I have heard others talking about it to.

Today was so busy. I did finally get all the pieces of my shirt located and then cut out what parts I needed for it and a second one to. You would know that I HAD to make a mistake today. I got the front part cut out right , but when it came to the back part I placed where the fold should be on the wrong side and had to end up cutting off another piece of fabric to cut that back part out of. I used all the pieces of left-overs to cut out one set of short sleeves and one set of long sleeves.
 By then though it was time to feed a starving hubby and myself also and then out to do chores and bring one laundry in and take another one out, plus vacuum the living room to capture some of that run away pet hair and then out to do chores. Where does our day run off it.

Past midnight once again - see what I mean. I need to go to bed - so I will leave you sending all things good to each of you.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Sometimes a toy makes you

It has been another one of those days that just get away from you-or maybe I am really getting SLOWER all the time- please not!
I got to going through all of the fabric bundles that the brother -in-law had shared with me yesterday . I had to do this BEFORE I could see the cutting table once again and I did not want to just move the bundles and then forget all about them and have to eventually move them again. So, the majority of them were bundles of vintage polyester - do you remember the pants suites? LOL A large part of them were still bundled together with a paper band around them that showed they were either .50 -1.00 / a yard . Some of them had met a similar fate as some of my  buried treasures. Back then I had never seen a plastic tote to store things in , so it did not take much for those little field mice to come in for the winter and discover their very own fabric store and bathrooms! Some were not stained and some were-and from my luck I could never get mice stain out of anything.

So, my  quandary- my lack of love for polyester- minus my want to not waste this fabric???? I wondered if there were any appreciaters of it?   Well, while I was concentrating my mind hit up on a light bulb for the moment-  My doggie pillows- all of the covers I had for them were about whipped out , from use and washing-after all furbabies were a lot like human children - they are not always the cleanest little critters on the earth. : )

So, I took one piece that had lots of brown and not so easy to show dirty -cut it in half and sewed two pillow cases .Then I pet one one from each side and that worked like a charm. For the moment my conscious was now clean- I had not wasted that piece and I had found a use for it. : ) For the moment I then transported the rest out into the storage shed -so that I could now find the parts of that shirt I had originally started in on. But - I got to talking to a new Aussie friend about TOYS - and her love of them- discovering that I also shared that. She and a friend are making them & when I mentioned I had one that a friend had given to me and how dear I thought of it. I had picked it up to describe it to her and low and behold the little zipper pull came off in m y hand-one of those O NO moments . So - she suggested I post it to give her a look - so dear Anita -here is my baby.

I think she is made from some kind of denim with her little wings and top-knot to set her off.

At the front of her there is this little zipper which I can no longer budge. If I could there are 3 little cloth eggs inside of her-which of course I cannot show ,but they are the same fabric as the wings and comb.I had pondered the possibility of using her as a pin cushion.?I appreciate it when something has different purposes-if you so desire.

I have also pondered using her as a pattern to make a armchair caddy for a chicken loving friend. Her head and back could then start to spread out on each side of the chair -one side as a counter weight to hold the junk OPPSSSSSSSS did I say junk - I mean essentials that you might want to contain on the opposite side - like tv remote - or scissors - or what ever you are into?
Maybe if I actually make it to bed sooner than 3:30 AM tonight - maybe my brain will get enough rest to try to function. : )
Love to all and hope you are "creating"!!!!!!   : )

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Good Intentions

I started off the day with Lots of good intentions, fed us-completed outdoor chores , took my walk , hung out a load of laundry and made it to the sewing room while waiting for DH's sister to arrive. I decided my next two projects would be to make a long and a short sleeve shirt for me. I pulled out the roll that contained the green variegated knit that I had saved since last year and cut out about a yard of it and started cutting out my shirt- first the front and then the back .

 I get both front and back cut out from this yard so I decide to cheat on my neckband because this one will be for me .

I take two halves and sew them together to make my neckband. I have seen them in the stores and they look like that is the way they intended. : ) That way my little scraps do not get wasted. Yea. It is so nice to be allowed "personal "time with my fabric and it always puts a smile on my face. I know I will need to use the serger now, so I actually get smart this time  and drag a little scrap out of the trash can and run it through the serger - thank goodness for once I did something right! That naughty serger breaks bad on me and makes a terrible mess like a toddler having a temper tantrum! So, time to pull out the doctor personality and start testing. Thirty minutes into my doctor personality the dogs start barking and I know the relatives have arrived. I put my babies to sleep and go in to greet them. Surprise.




Eddie's Mama had passed away a year ago and he brings in some of the fabric that she had to see if I can get any use out of it. My sister-in-law says that someone else had taken all the new fabric and left this. So, my cutting table goes from surgery table to examination table.

Our oldest son and one of the grandson's had came early this morning and cut up a big pile of logs that he had hauled in earlier two weeks ago and Cory was cutting it up and Ronnie was loading it onto a truck and taking it to the house and unloading it.They stopped and came in to visit with their Aunt & Uncle and then left. That left us "old folks" to eat beans and cornbread and spend the afternoon together.When you do not know how long you have with someone it gets to where every minute is special.

So, now they are gone and I came back in to check out my space. I don't know what to do first- start checking out the packages or remove them and finish cutting out my shirt. Then I wanted to show you how Miss Rosie was so thrilled , she was poking her nose in any bag it would fit and trying to open the boxes to check them out.I grabbed my camera and got ready to click when it say those famous words,"card is full".What//////////////////////////////// it should not be, but it is . I try to scoot over to the off line computer I had planned to save pictures to and all the pictures look like shadows of colors -not real color pictures and I cannot figure out what to do ????? It is amazing how many hours you can lose in a computer -whether it is one that co-operates with you or not. :)

And, instead of keyboard failure which it had told me was the problem - it is mouse failure and I have a spare -so now at least that works.  Now, I am really stuck - mess all around me and hardly any progress made.:(

So, I will bid you farewell & hope you are having as much fun as I am- did I really say FUN??????? LOL