Hellloooooo!!!
I haven't completely resolved my technical difficulties - it's all about the new blogger interface. aaarrrgggghhhh - why do they have to mess with a good thing?

My sweet hubby and I have spent the past week trying to reclaim our lives. My mother has gone back to Texas. It was five months of trials, tribulations and extreme fatique. Sigh! If you're a caregiver you have my utmost respect - it's NOT an easy job.

I missed my 'happiest place on earth' - my sewing room - so I'm making plans for new projects and such.



I have this oh so wonderful fat quarter bundle of Farmer's Market and know exactly what I'm going to do with it. I'm beyond excited about the project - actually I'm quite giddy. teehee!! I need yardage before I can get started but we're on a very tight budget. I submitted a request to my budget guy to spend some serious money and received approval. Wahoooooo!!!!! I'm going to prep the fat quarters so I can be ready to go when the package arrives later this week. I really am giddy about this project. :-)


I've been hoarding this bundle of wonderfulness - Sew Cherry by Lori Holt for Riley Blake. It's time to start pressing and cutting - what to do, what to do????


I was chatting with a friend earlier this week about Swoon by Camille/Thimbleblossoms. It seems everyone is 'swooning' except us. LOL I've had the pattern since Camille released it but it sits because I can't seem to settle on fabric. Why do I do that????? I drive myself crazy - LOL

I'm also working on prepping some embroidery projects. :-)

I know I've been remiss in responding to comments and such the past five months. Please accept my sincerest apologies and know that I'm going to try harder. I want to recapture the happiness of blogging. Let's just say "I'm back in the saddle again" :-)

Tomorrow is Christmas Through the Year April wrap up and Block of the Month Rehab - see you then.

I appreciate you and your friendship.

In Friendship!

I'm experiencing some technical difficulties today! :-( Assuming I can resolve my challenges I plan to be back in a day or so. Christmas Through The Year participants - I'm shaking my pom poms for you!!! :-) Don't forget to visit Cheryl today!In Friendship!

BOM Rehab and Christmas Through The Year
:-)


BOM Rehab - another block from the 2011 FQS Mystery BOM Thank you, Sinta! :-)
I really enjoyed this block because it represents my favorite flower. AHH tulips!!!! :-)

Hello, Christmas Elves. I hope you're making progress with your Christmas gift making! Looking forward to the end of the month to see all your beauties.

Participating in the Christmas Through The Year club (no sign up - just play when you want) will, hopefully, help you have a stress free Christmas. Imagine having a day or two to put your feet up with a cup of your favorite hot or cold beverage feeling wonderful about your hard work through the year. Bliss! :-)
Play along in April and you'll have an opportunity to win Cheryl's sweet, sweet bow tie small quilt. Wish I could win - LOL
Don't forget to visit Cheryl today, she has some fabulous tutorials.

I'll see you tomorrow - I have more to share! :-)

In Friendship!

BOM Rehab & Christmas Through The Year



Block #5 of Fat Quarter Shop 2011 Designer Mystery BOM - check (aka done) woohoo!
Thank you, Sinta, for the encouragement.







We're a third of the way through April so I hope you're thinking about a Christmas gift or two to make this month! Please jump aboard the Christmas train - we're chugging along on our way to our next stop.



If you hop aboard the Christmas train and complete a Christmas gift or two you will be eligible to win Cheryl's fabulous stocking gift for the month of April! How can you resist the opportunity to win this cutie? Not only will you be eligible to win, you'll also be working toward a stress-free Christmas.

Last week I declared that I would make more time for sewing! LOL - laugh along with me because it was a complete BUST!!! Maybe this week will be better - wish me luck!

Thank you for visiting - come again real soon.

In Friendship!

WooHoo!!!!! I did it - I completed block 4 of the Fat Quarter Shop 2011 Designer Mystery BOM. Thank you so much, Sinta!!! Next week block 5. :-)



Cheryl and I are over the top excited at all the delightful Christmas gifts completed in March! We had 25 busy Christmas elves. I'm thinking about challenging everyone to show us your storage boxes, baskets, drawers, etc. I'm excited knowing that in November/December you'll have less stress.

Go visit Cheryl to see all the awesome tutorials she's posted today. If you're struggling with what to make for a certain someone I know you'll find some great ideas when Cheryl posts tutorials.



The March winner is Shez in Australia Congratulations, Shez, I'll send an e-mail shortly. You'll need to decide which table runner you'd like. :-)

It's All About ME :-)

I miss my stitching, sewing, happy moments in my sewing room, etc. Basically, I simply miss ME.

I've made a decision - I'm going to spend more time doing what makes ME happy and try to put all the negativity in my life behind me.

I hope you're prepared for more blogposts from me because I'm planning to be around more. I miss YOU so much!

I have some sweet stitching planned. These are the monthly free fruit/veggie designs from Bird Brain Designs. Printed on Printable Solvy ready to adhere to dishtowels. Red apple, green asparagus, red beets, & red cherries; which is YOUR favorite?




Sinta from The Pink Pincushion has come up with an excellent idea to help us (ME)work on our (MY) ignored BOM projects. WooHoo!!!!



I started the Fat Quarter Shop 2011 Designer Mystery BOM with a vengeance and then fizzled right out (so typical for me - lol). I found the first three blocks and the kit for block four. Will work on that one tonight. :-)



I seriously LOVE this fabric - so many sweet prints make it very difficult to pick a favorite. It's fat eighths of Pam Kitty Morning - YUMMY! I have a project idea so I'm hoping to start cutting this week. Blissful sigh!

Tomorrow I will announce the March winner of Christmas Through the Year - today it's all about ME.

I appreciate your visit - come again soon.

In Friendship!

Christmas Through the Year & Schnibbles



The end of March - can you believe it?????? 2012 is seriously flying by and it won't be long before Christmas is here again. Cheryl and I are here to encourage you to make one or two Christmas gifts every month. Following our lead will hopefully lead to a stressfree December for you.



Add your name to Mr Linky showing your March gift(s) and you'll be entered to win one of the tablerunners.




NOT Christmas :-)



At the midnight hour I finished this month's Another Year of Schnibbles project - Bibelot. Sinta and Sherri are the Schnibbles divas; be sure to visit their blogs to view the March parade of Schnibbles. Always so many yummy finishes.

I struggled with my fabric selection. Even after decided to use Sunkissed I was second guessing my decision but I LOVE it. It represents everything Spring for me and colors that make me smile :-) One of the prints has Spring words - renew, sprout, grow, etc. Yes, everything Spring! :-)

Enjoy your Saturday! I sincerely appreciate your visit and hope you'll come again soon.

In Friendship!

Christmas Through the Year



The CTTY Train is chugging along to it's next stop - March 31. You still have time to make at least one Christmas gift this month. We're all experiencing and enjoying Spring, therefore, the last thing you want to think about is Christmas. Yes, I totally understand. Taking some time NOW to make one gift every month will assure you a little less stress in December.



Remember if you make a little Christmas gift this month you'll be eligible for this month's stocking and gift. You'll have a choice of one of the runners in the picture.

I'll be back on Saturday, March 31 with Mr Linky.

"I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year!"

Wishing you a Happy Spring!
(my Nana's favorite season)

Hugs,
Shaye

Hello! Have you missed my "annoying" Christmas Through The Year posts? :-)



I hope you're still on board the Christmas Train as we continue our gift making journey. We're chugging our way to our next stop - March 31 (we're beyond the half way point). January and February were very successful months - let's make March successful, too.

To help you make some decisions regarding what to make for your friends and/or relatives you must visit Cheryl's blog - she's posted a wonderful assortment of tutorials. They are all very tempting and would make someone very happy!



If you finish gifts in March and post a link to your blog you'll be eligible to win one of the following tablerunners. One in Spring colors and one in darker reproduction fabrics - the choice will be yours if your name is drawn.

Have a great week - see you next Monday!


"I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year!"

Snippets on the playground!!! LOL I'm playing with lots of "Snippets" today.

I'm taking advantage of huge snippets of time to sew because my sister is here and I've turned my Mom over to her. LOL

Enjoy your Saturday!

In Friendship!

A few months ago I decided to participate in a swap on the Kathy Tracy's Yahoo Board and ironically I was paired with Kaaren of The Painted Quilt. We were stunned but happy! :-)

While searching for 'the' quilt I remembered I had this book from Primitive Gatherings. It only took a few minutes to find 'the' quilt. I'll show you Kaaren's quilt further down in the post.



The small quilt required twelve 1.5" finished 'negative' nine patches. If you follow the method in the book to make nine patches you end up with an equal number of 'negative' and 'positive' nine patches. Negative - the lights are in the corners and center; Positive - the darks are in the corners and center. Easy peasy!



This is the small quilt I sent Kaaren. It's called "Little Red" in the book. You can see I needed 12 'negative' nine patches but now I had 12 'positive' nine patches seriously taunting me. LOL Earlier this week I finally had a plan for the menacing nine patches and then remembered I'd cut enough squares to make more. So I got busy making another set of positive and negative nine patches for two more small quilts.



Here are the resulting three small quilts - the one on the right was made with the 'positive' nine patches I had from making Kaaren's quilt. The other quilts were made with a new set of 'positive' and 'negative' nine patches. Do you see the HUGE error I made? Obviously my mind was drifting but 'it is what it is'. Sigh! ;-)

Which is your favorite?

I'm really having a ton of fun with my "snippets of fabric and time" and find myself smiling :-) everytime I finish one. So, while chatting with a friend the other night I was trying to explain how I feel while making my small quilts ---- the first word that came to mind was GIDDY!!!! Yep, I feel very, very GIDDY everytime I finish one. A grown woman feeling GIDDY is not a bad thing, is it? LOL

Thank you so much for popping in to visit with me! Christmas Through The Year posts will resume on Monday - thank you for your patience.

In Friendship!

It's been a busy week - birthdays, appointments and lots of 'stuffus'.

I have had some "snippets" of time to play with "snippets" of fabric. I found myself smiling with every little project I worked on. I have asked myself why I'm working with "snippets" when I have fat quarter bundles, layer cakes, charm packs, jelly rolls, etc. Simple answer - it's lots of fun! LOL I couldn't stop with just one! A very good friend told me I was bordering on obsessive and needed to step away before I went over the edge. LOL

I discovered a pile of strips (Nine Dots by Carrie Nelson/Miss Rosie's) I immediately trimmed them down to 2" strips without a real plan because I figured I couldn't go wrong with 2" strips.



The on-point 4 patches are 2 inch finished blocks with 2 inch alternate blocks,the half square triangles are 1.5 inch finished blocks and the postage stamps are 1.5 inch finished.




And, then I decided to work with 'snippets' of Hideaway; cut 2" squares, set them on-point and called it done! Not sure if I'll finish it as a pillow or small table topper.

I am on a super tight budget so I can't spend money on new fabric. Yes, there are some I'd love to own. Sigh! I'm learning that I can take 'snippets of fabric', a background fabric and have lots of fun. I have little to no desire to make large quilts but I'm sure enjoying making the small ones during my 'snippets of time'.

Thank you so much for visiting me - come again soon.

In Friendship!

A few days ago I discovered a charm pack of Hideaway by Moda buried in a drawer. I didn't recall having purchased this charm pack and couldn't believe how absolutely adorable it was! I set it by my computer so I could fondle it while I made plans to make something soon.

Then last night (ok, early this morning) I was up because I couldn't sleep. I was looking for some fabric and discovered small yardages of the fabrics shown above - Hideaway. Where did this come from(?) - seriously - was it a kit(?) - if so, where's the pattern(?). I went to bed at 4:30am scratching my head. Seriously perplexed! LOL

I was afforded the opportunity to have a few hours to myself this afternoon so I ran to my "Hideaway" to sew. I kept it simple but I love it! A small quilt for the month of March on March 1. woohoo!!!


I'm feeling a bit smug tonight - 'when life gives you lemons; make lemonade'. Uninterrupted sewing time is blissful.

In case you missed Cheryl's post on her blog - the February winner for Christmas Through The Year is Carrie P.

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me - come again soon!

In Friendship!

Choo-Choo!!!! The Christmas Through The Year Train is pulling into a second stop along our gift making journey. WooHoo!!!!!

I hope you're ready to share a link to show your accomplishments in the month of February! Cheryl and I are very excited and looking forward to seeing all the fun things you made this month!

I didn't accomplish much this month so I don't have anything to show. :-(

I plan to make up for it in March. :-)

Yesterday afternoon I made this little sweet little quilt in my quest to make at least one small quilt every month. :-)

Time to share your link!

Hello, are you stitching and sewing with Christmas in mind?????? Oh, Cheryl and I can hardly wait to see all your pretties and such! :-)

You know you'll be really excited and happy next December when you can sit back and relax!

The Christmas Through The Year Train will be pulling into it's second stop on Wednesday, February 29. I'll have Mr Linky ready for you to link your posts with your gifts and such.


Do you remember the little gift quilts I made in January? I've been a busy girl - they are all quilted and bound! Can I get a woohoo!!!!!

Yes, that's the Little Twister Quilt Sandy R won the end of January - it was in the pile! Sigh - I'm so sorry Sandy, I promise your stocking with the little quilt and surprises will be in the mail later today.

Can you tell I had a rough February? :-(


Hope to see you on Wednesday when I'll have lots more to share with you!

Not Christmas Related! :-)


This week I had fun stitching these adorable bunnies. You know I love bunny wabbits!!!

This is a new pattern from Bird Brain Designs called "Bunny Bunch Table Runner".


Thank you so much for popping in to visit with me.


In Friendship!

Hoop Dreams

My Dearest Grandmother,

Last night I threaded my needle, put my latest embroidery project in my spring hoop and made sure my scissors were handy. It suddenly occurred to me that I owe you for my love of hand embroidery. I don't think I ever said thank you!!!

Let's go down memory lane together, dear grandmother. You always understood my need to play outdoors from sun up to sun down with my friends. Goodness we were all over the neighborhood - giggling, snickering and laughing like the silly little girls that we were. LOL These are such happy memories for me.

Oh wait, there was that certain time of the day when you said the sun's glare was too strong and you insisted I sit in the shade. My chosen spot was usually the front porch of your grocery market that was attached to the house. Sometimes my friends would join me and we played jacks, marbles, etc. Most afternoons you had me sit with an embroidery project in my hands. I don't remember how many pillowcases, dresser scarves, dishtowels, hankies, etc I completed. You had many Spanish speaking customers and I remember when one brought a set of dishtowels with the days of the week written in Spanish for me to embroider. I wonder what happened to all my 'beauties'. ;-)

Over the years I've enjoyed lots of sewing and counted x-stitch but didn't believe I could still embroider. In recent years I took the embroidery plunge and fell in love all over again. These memories have given me a strong desire to embroider similar items so I've been on a diligent search for patterns. I'm really excited about the possibilities!!!

Your friends called you Hope but I called you Grandmother. Being raised by you until my teen years is the best thing that happened to me. I can't believe you've been gone almost 25 years but rarely does a day go by that I don't have you in my thoughts. Especially when I have my embroidery hoop in my hands. :-)

Thank you for letting me share a fond memory of my Grandmother! I plan to share more "Hoop Dreams" in the coming weeks - I hope you'll join me!

In Friendship!

Hello, Christmas Elves!!!!

Here I am shaking my pom-poms and cheering you on!!!!

How's your gift giving Christmas sewing coming along?

We want to be making our Christmas gifts through the year so we're not stressfully burning the midnight oil in December!!! Don't forget to make your list and check it twice ------ you'll be so glad you did!! At this point let's not fret about who's been naughty or nice - teehee!!!

Cheryl is shaking her pom-poms and cheering you on while providing lots of fabulous tutorials on her blog. Seriously you must go visit her blog - talk about inspiration!

On a personal note - I'm finally feeling much better!!! Still the lingering cough but my energy level is up. I threaded my needle a couple of times last week and hope to do it more often this week. I'm so far behind but I'm determined to catch up. woohoo!!!

Thank you so much for all your get well wishes!!!

In Friendship!

In Friendship!