Beads of Courage

I know I've mentioned before about my weekly sew and tell meeting that I attend at Above and Beyond Sewing and Vacuum.  We like to get there a little early to catch up on what everyone has been doing for the week.  Then we are filled in about upcoming classes and new products.  After that there is always some sort of craft/sewing/quilting demonstration.  A good time is always had by all.

This past Wednesday we did something different.  There is a nation-wide program called Beads of Courage.  You can read about it here on their web site.  Children who are afflicted with serious and/or life threatening diseases can participate through hospitals in their area.  For instance, if it is a cancer patient they get a bead for visits, a bead for shots, a bead when their hair falls out, etc.. They get a bead for every milestone along their journey.   Please take the time to go through the web site and learn about this wonderful program.

We spent the day making bags to distribute to children at the hospital in our area that is sponsoring the program.  This is just a small example of the bags we made.  It was a great day and I think we all felt so good to be doing our part to help the children have something special.

If you are wondering if there is a facility in your area that participates in this program go to the home page, at the top click on "information" and click on "hospitals".    If you would like to make bags go the top where it says "artists"and then click on "quilters".  You will find the directions for making these simple bags as well as an order form to send for the labels .

Thank you in advance for any help you can give this organization.

Laundry Room Alert!

I didn't have anything better to do so I thought I would take pictures of my laundry room to show you.  I actually have tons to do, but I got distracted, truth be told.  Excuse the poor quality of pictures.  Son gave me a new (hand me down) camera which takes awesome pictures, I'm sure.  Trouble is he didn't give me the charger for it.  I'm waiting for him to come home from the other side of the world so he can find it in all his stuff.  They are not cheap and I know the minute I buy one, he'll find it.  So I wait....

Back to the laundry room.  In all of my 45 years of marriage I have never had a laundry room.  Although, that's not entirely true.  We had one house that had a "laundry area" behind bi-fold doors in the - get this - family room!  You could not watch television, talk, or even think straight when the washer and dryer were going because of the noise.  What were they thinking?  First thing we did was have them moved to the garage.  Then we took off the doors and paneled the area (it was the 80's after all) and put up shelves.  We used the area to store games and books.  It worked out great.

Having an laundry room here is a real blessing.  It's almost a necessity also as it gets so very cold in the winter.  I wouldn't want to be out in the garage doing laundry when the temperatures are below zero.  I've had fun decorating it.  It was a blank slate, off white walls and a gray washer and dryer.  I had some pink containers I had purchased at Home Goods that I used in my sewing room at the other house.  I store cleaning supplies, tools, light bulbs, etc. in them.  It made choosing my color scheme easy - pink!!

I have a nice collection of Scottie linens.  This is a child's apron.

 This sign is a gift from a friend.  It doesn't look like it here but it's pink.

 Scotty door stops.

I have a white wicker hamper for the dirty laundry.  I would set something cute on top of it, but just in case the hubs does some laundry I don't want to make it any more difficult for him.  (LOL!  I crack myself up!!!)

A Busy Bee Washboard (blurry photo alert!)

Pink Quilt

Have you seen the reproduction blue Ball jars that are available?  I bought mine to use.  I guess I better go get some more 'cause these look cute right where they are!

More Scottie linens.  You can't tell but the towels are hanging from vintage glass towel bars.

 If it is a Scottie something, I probably have it.  That is a tablecloth hanging from my ironing board.  I forgot to take a picture of it but it has a pink cover.  Of course it does!

As I was puttsing around the house this morning I came across this little oval Scottie dresser scarf and I thought it was time to give it a home.  In a moment of sheer brilliance (LOL!) I decided to hang it over the washer and dryer hoses.  You can decorate a laundry room but it doesn't look finished and nice if they are showing.   If you look close you can see delicate tatting around the edge that has little holes in it (openwork) which made it easy to hang.  Worked out great.

I just heard the dryer go off so I better go hang up clothes.  Have a Happy and Restful Labor Day!!!

A Fine Jane Austen Marriage

I don't know about you, but I think that this summer has gone way too fast!!  I had such plans to do so much.  Sadly, I didn't get many of them done.  Whose to blame?  Me!!!!  Oh, well.  Here's to a cooler and more productive fall.

I haven't been doing much sewing of late.  At least not nearly as much as I would like - or should be doing.  I have a baby quilt to crank out and some bags to cut out for a sew-in at a local shop for charity.  Then a quilt for my grandson.  When I get all that done I hope to make something for myself!!  Yesterday I got together with two friends to put together a quilt for a gal we just met.  I don't want to go into details until we give it to her.  Not that she reads my blog, I'm sure.  I just want to be careful.  We decided she needs and deserves a warm hug from a quilt.

Darcy and Carol are the two gals I sewed with yesterday.  We meet at Darcy's periodically to make things like the tote bags I blogged about earlier this summer.  Just scroll down and you'll see them.  What I find so admirable about these two gals is the amount of charity sewing they do.  They belong to the Firehouse Quilt Guild that Pat was so nice to blog about here.  They also sew dresses and bags on a regular basis that are donated to women and children in Haiti.  Every month they pick a new charity to sew for, making hats for the homeless,  backpacks for foster children, bags and quilts for the local Children's Hospital for the little cancer patients.  Even beds for rescue cats.  Well done, ladies!!!!!

In all of this, they actually make time to make something for themselves. They deserve it, don't you think?  I had been going through my patterns one day and came across Miss Rosie's Schnibble pattern, Darcy.  I decided it needed a new home, and should go to my friend, Darcy.  She was thrilled to get a pattern named after her!  (We laughed, because we agreed it was more than likely named after Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen fame!)  Her all time favorite quilt star is Eleanor Burns so she made Darcy using Eleanor's fabric line, Ellie Ann.  A perfect Jane Austen marriage, don't you think?

Isn't it the prettiest thing?  The colors remind me of sherbet ice-cream.  She still has to quilt it but I wanted you to see it now.  I'm sure Carrie and Eleanor, along with Mr. Darcy, would be pleased.

We're in for another hot day here today.  I have been busy of late so I'm taking the day off to "chill" before doing some work around the house this weekend.  It is Labor Day weekend, after all.  I'm going to watch some British murder mysteries dvd's and maybe try to get some reading done.  I think there may be a nap in the mix as well!

Have a wonderful weekend and drive safe if you are travelling!!!  Maggie sends her love!

Window Well Covers

Well, it doesn't take much to make this gal happy.  We just had our window well covers installed on our three basement windows and I am thrilled!!!

This is the before:

This is the after:

We chose not to get them at a big box store.  They would not be custom fit and with installation would have ended up costing us more.  We went with a local company who does make them custom. They are powder coated steel and will hold 500 pounds.  If you need to get out of the basement in an emergency all you do is open the window and release the chain lock, which is an easy 2 second maneuver.  They cannot be opened from the outside.

You may have heard my stories about raccoons and bunnies (alive and passed on) that have fallen down our wells, as well as debris.  This will put a stop to that!!!  Now if you know me, you know it's all about Maggie.  The main reason I wanted them is because I was so worried she would run around the corner of the house chasing a rabbit at night and WHAM!  Down she would go.  I couldn't forgive myself if she got hurt.

My next project is to put some fresh bark at the bottom and put a few of my bunny statues in there for decoration.  From now on those are the only ones allowed!

Have a wonderful week!

I have a question!

I have a housekeeping question.  I have links on my sidebar and I can't add any more.  I know that some of the current links have closed and some haven't been added to for a year.  I have some new blog links I'd like to add but can't until  I clean up my list.

So, how do you all do upkeep on your links? If a blog hasn't be posted for a year do you delete it?  Six months?  Two years?

It's painful and I don't want anyone thinking I don't care for them anymore.  However, I know that people's interests and focus can change.  I really appreciate the blogs that come out and say that they are either taking a blog break or are stopping altogether.

I appreciate your input!!

  Anne of Bunny Hill has challenged us to take more pictures of our pets.  This is my favorite shot of Maggie, taken a few years ago at the Painted Desert.   Doesn't she look all sophisticated?  She's really not.  She's a silly dog that lives to chase bunnies.  As soon as I can, I'll take a picture of her and post it.  She stands in the kitchen with her head out of the pet door - waiting---watching---hoping!  It looks hilarious.  Also, like I said, we have a pet door.  Dogs can come and go out of a pet door, right?  Not Maggie.  She stands in the kitchen  and lets me know she wants out.  I have to get up and go to the door.  Then she starts this sllloooooowwww motion walk/crawl to the door.  When she gets right up to it she won't go out until I "click" the latch - then she's off like a shot!  She's really well trained.  Oh, yea, I think I'm the one who is trained!

We have basements here so therefore we have basement window wells that are four or five foot deep.  The guys are here now measuring so we can have custom covers made.  They are really good for security.  Don't want any robbers breaking in now, do we?  Mostly I'm having them made for Maggie and the animals.  Last year we had a raccoon in one of the window wells.  It fell down somehow and couldn't get out.  Animal control wouldn't come out so we put a big branch and a ladder down and it managed to crawl out.  Then earlier this summer we had a little cute baby bunny down in one of the wells.  Aaahhhh!  I had to go in the basement and capture it with a box to get it out.  I was afraid it would get loose in the basement which would have been a catastrophe.  While rescuing him/her I found a couple dead rabbits as well.  YUCK!!!  My theory is that Maggie chases them around the corner of the house and wooohhhhooo, down they go!  My real fear is Maggie will fall down as well.  The window wells can hold 500 pounds, are powder coated steel and have quick release latches so you can open them from the basement in case of an emergency.  AND they were cheaper than the ones I looked at at the big box stores.  You can check them out here.

Anything to make my dog safe and happy, right?  Right!!!!

Happy Fourth of July!

Have a safe and Happy Fourth of July!!!!

from Miss Jean and Maggie!

Is that GREEN I see?

This is what Maggie is doing this morning.  She loves to sit by the front door and watch.  Watch for what?  Oh, cats, rabbits, anything that moves.

Do you notice the green grass?  Monday night we had a Winter Weather Advisory.  Snow, ice, wind, the whole nine yards!  Today the snow is gone, the sun is shining and I can hear birds chirping outside.  I'm sure they are happy little campers today, too.  If you look close at the wet spot on the porch you can still see the remnants of some ice.  That'll be gone later as well.  We need more rain so that's fine.  Just can we be done with the snow!?!

Today I have a few errands to run and then I need to finish some housework.  After that I have to work on my daughter's quilt.  I was ready to put the strips together last night.  Then all I would have left to do is sew on the borders and take it down and quilt it at the new quilt shop in town that rents time on their fabulous long arm.  Sadly, I had sewn one of the blocks together wrong (as in upside down and backwards wrong) so I had to do some Frog Sewing last night.  You know, rip-it, rip-it, rip-it!

What wonderful things are ya'll up to today?

P.S.  Maggie just came in the room to say hi!

A little bit of sewing going on...

I went to a friend's house yesterday for a sew-in.  Her hubs was out of town and it was the perfect time to get together with friends and have some fun.  Rather than working on quilts, we made these bags.  Aren't they the cutest?  Can you guess what they are made out of?

If you guessed expensive decorator fabric you would be wrong.  They are made out of place mats!! Mine is the one on the right.  The hardest part was actually finding the place mats without spending too much money.  I found mine at Big Lots for $1.50 each.  Besides two place mats you just need to have some cotton duck fabric which is a heavy fabric that can be found at Joann's and some cotton fabric for the liner.  Finish it off with a covered piece of foam board to reinforce the bottom and voila!  You're done!  How cute is that?  Mine is a gift for a friend and I hope she loves it.

I'm basically a quilter but I love these quick projects.  They help perfect your sewing skills like top stitching and give you instant gratification because they are fast and you don't have to be quite as precise as with quilting.

On a side note, do you see how sunny it was?  Well, things can change on a dime here.  It's snowing, schools are closed, businesses are closed, roads are dangerous.  In other words, it's a SNOW DAY!  In my terminology, that means PAJAMA DAY!  I'm staying in and reading, sewing, and catching up on watching the NCIS shows I have taped.

Have fun wherever you are!

Blessings....