It's Monday and I'm not at work!

So how was your Christmas? It was a lot of fun here! Crazy and funny and a magical fun day. I really enjoyed it this year. It was nice to have my little family here to celebrate it with.

There we are after we ate. Next up . . . opening gifts! Lots of fun gifts, so much wrapping paper everywhere when we were done. What a mess! And I loved every minute of it.

My daughter loved the potholder/oven mitt set I made her. I wasn't able to show this before as I wasn't sure if she reads this.

And look what she got me! It just made me laugh. I fell in love with this thing in the fall and she ended up going back to the store and buying it for me and putting it away for Christmas.

So funny to get a Halloween thing for Christmas!

It was a real fun holiday. I'm so glad I saved some of my vacation days and I have this whole week off. A whole week to do nothing! No alarm clocks, no traffic, no stress. I can spend it with my daughter while she's home on her break.

I did get some socks done before Christmas. Plymouth yarns Sockotta. Nice and comfy!

I do have another pair of socks on the needles, but they are taking forever to knit. I just haven't been in a knitting mood lately. Maybe today. It's snowing outside and there's nowhere I have to go. Maybe I'll just sit and knit.

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas!

I'm done!

Finally. All my gift sewing and knitting is done! Yay! My sewing machine has been working real hard lately, and it hung in there and did a great job. I'm giving it a rest for now.

I made my daughter's boyfriend a set of pillowcases. He loves to go fishing. These are a nice soft cotton flannel.

I think he'll like them.

I made my grandson a set of pillowcases. Bowling pins! He loves to go bowling with his daddy. I think he'll like these. Another nice soft cotton flannel.

I found this Bart Simpson fabric at Walmart. Couldn't resist buying it. And then decided to make my Dad some potholders with it. He does all the cooking these days, and hopefully the potholders will put a smile on his face.

Shadow looks rather mean in that photo, but she's really the sweetest cat you'd ever meet.

I have some other things that I sewed but I can't show you.

I did knit up a silly thing for my son and grandson. I made them a pickle for their Christmas tree!

I think they will get a kick out of it! It looks grey in that photo, but it's green.

My daughter will be home tomorrow for Christmas break. I'm looking forward to spending time with her and having her here for Christmas!

If I don't get a chance to post again until after Christmas, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you have a lot of fun!

Old Man Winter Has Arrived

Wow, I haven't blogged in a while. I've had a nasty sinus infection that has just whipped my butt.

Still getting ready for Christmas here. I haven't sewed very much. I did get a set of pillowcases done for my mom.

Snowmen! I love that fabric.

And I did get a curtain done for my side door. This time in a wintery/Christmasy print.

And on the other side of the door is a pinecone door hanging I made.

It's made with those cinnamon pinecones that are in the stores at this time of year. It smells so nice when I come in and out of the house.

I did get a pair of socks done that I've working on for a while. Just a plain old pattern, mindless tv knitting. I love the yarn. It has sparkles!

We've been getting ready for Christmas. My grandson had Santa's Secret Shop at his school and brought his gifts to my house to wrap. He left them here under my tree until Christmas. I smile every time I look a them. He had a grand time wrapping them and putting the tags on. They are the ones in the blue snowflake paper. It was so fun to see him getting into the spirit of Christmas.

The one on the right is for me. Kids make Christmas such a joy!

Just moving right along . . .

I'm still sewing gifts, and having a blast doing it! My sewing machine has been a real workhorse lately. I better take it in after Christmas and have it cleaned and serviced. It's been a long time since that's been done.

I made my son a set of potholders and an oven mitt. A fun little project!

I love them! Might have to make a set for myself too.

I made my dad a set of pillowcases. I know he enjoys watching the Pistons and when I came across Pistons fabric I knew it was the right choice.

And of course, as usual, a cat in the picture.

My Aunt got me hooked on making yo-yos. She makes little trees out of the various sized yo-yos, so I made some too. It was so hard to get a good picture of these, so just pretend it's crystal clear.

Enough of those for now, I'm sick of making them. I have been knitting some socks but no pics yet.

I am enjoying my new quilt. And so are the cats. It's hard to get them off the bed in the morning so I can make it.

I'm so looking forward to Thanksgiving! Gotta go buy my food today and get things ready. Have a great weekend!

Fabric Joy

My beautiful warm quilt!

It's done and on the bed. I used it for the first time last night. Nice and toasty warm! I love my quilt.

I'm so glad I made it. Can't wait to make another one! The next one will be bigger. This one is more of a full size, my bed is a queen size. After the holidays are over I'll plan the next one.

I went to a new (to me) quilt shop yesterday. What fun! Oh my such beautiful fabrics and friendly service. I will definitely go back. I bought a few Christmas fabrics while there. Not sure what I'll make with them, but I was not leaving without buying them.

I'll be back at my sewing machine today. I've got more stuff to make and a wonderful long three day weekend to play with my fabrics!

Busy time of year

It's the busy time of year if you make Christmas gifts. Busy busy busy. But I love it! I love making gifts. I've been knitting and sewing, lots and lots of sewing. I can't show some of it yet.

My son is a big University of Michigan fan. I made him a set of pillowcases. I think he'll love them! Of course a kitty had to get in the picture.

I did make another curtain for the side door, it's not hanging up yet since it's a Christmas fabric. Pics of that will come later.

I also made some little fabric Christmas ornaments. OMG they just turned out so cute! Hard to sew a perfectly round circle, but I'm happy with them. They'll make cute little gift tags which can then be used on the recipient's Christmas tree.

The quilt is finished but I haven't had a chance to get a good picture of it yet. I'm almost done with a pair of socks I'm knitting for myself. After that, some gift knitting. Lots to do. The clock is ticking.

Making Progress

I'm just moving right along on my quilt. I have the quilt top done. Now it's all pinned together and basted.

I'm loving it! The next step is to tie it together. I'm not going to quilt it. After that I can sew on the binding, and then it will be done. I have enjoyed making this quilt so much!

I have gotten some knitting done this week. I made a pair of mittens, a very old pattern. I think it goes very nicely with the yarn I used. It's from Marr Haven Wool Farm in Michigan. It's not processed a lot, I can still feel the lanolin in it. I love how these mittens turned out.

I can tell they will be toasty warm!

Sewing, sewing, sewing

Has an idea ever just hit you out of the blue? I had a brainstorm the other day. Here is the little curtain I had on my side door. Ladybugs. Cute. Summery.

Then it hit me. Why not make a new little curtain with some fabric I recently bought while shopping with my Aunt. I copied and bought some fabric she bought as I fell in love with the fabric too. A quilt looking fall print. So I made a little curtain for the side door. I love it!

I'll keep it up until it's time to bring the Christmas stuff out. Then I'll change it to a Christmas print. Gotta get busy and buy some Christmas fabric then sew another little curtain. What a fun little change for the seasons.

I've been having a great time working on my quilt. All the blocks are sewn together now into rows of blocks. I'm making progress!

Now I just sew the rows of blocks together and then the quilt top will be done. Haven't gotten the backing fabric yet. Can't decide on a color. The quilt colors are reminding me of Mardi Gras colors. Very bright! I'm loving this so far.

On a final note. Shadow was sitting so nicely in the kitchen the other day. I just had to take her picture. Do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of a black cat? Very hard. At least she sat there for a while so I could try.

Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend. From pizza to the cider mill and a hayride to a jigsaw puzzle and a quilt. Non-stop. It was so fun! I finally got my fix of apple cider from the cider mill. So yummy!

My daughter was home for the weekend and we kept ourselves busy working a jigsaw puzzle. It was great fun! I haven't done a puzzle in ages.

1,000 pieces. We got it done in 24 hours. We did sleep and eat and went back at it. Good bonding time!

I finally had a chance to work on my quilt. I made some strips, then I cut the strips into little blocks, and started sewing the little blocks into bigger blocks.

I have really enjoyed working on this quilt so far!

Apple Cider Season

Fall is in the air. The days are shorter. The temps are cooler. The cider mills are open! Time to pull out the wool yarns again and knit. I also decided I'm going to make a quilt. Had a grand time shopping for the supplies this past weekend with my sister, aunt and cousin. It was a wonderful day. I've actually gotten the quilt cut out too.

I'm ready to fire up the sewing machine and have at it! Stay tuned for progress.

I've also been able to touch wool yarn again. Just couldn't stand it in the summer. I made this little scarf. The pattern is Paula's Scarfette. I found it on Ravelry. I love it. Such a cute name. Scarfette!

I started another shawl. This one I'm keeping. It's made with Misti Alpaca in fingering weight, so soft. I love to just touch it. It's called Multomah. The pattern has also been found on Ravelry.

So the needles are flying again, the sewing machine is waiting to be fired up, the cider is waiting to be drunk. Fall is my favorite season.

Cute Things

Cute overload today. Let's start with the little pink felt bag. I embellished it with some adoreable cupcake buttons. They look so real I want to eat them.

I bought the cutest lampshade for my candlestick lamp at the craft store. A bit early for Halloween stuff, but I have it out anyway. I just love it!

I did a little Halloween crafting. Coffins usually aren't something that are cute, but they are when they are painted with glow-in-the-dark paint and have music buttons in them. One for my daughter, one for my grandson.

While I was painting the coffins my daughter made these little dolls. So precious! And I painted the papier mache cupcake and gave it to her. The top comes off for storing precious small items.

I haven't been knitting much lately, but I did get these socks done for my grandson. I can't wait to give them to him.

I don't have anything on the needles at the moment. Can't decide what to knit next, so I'm taking a break.

My grandson started first grade. Here he is with his school haircut. He's just so cute in my eyes!

And here's my daughter fishing from the paddleboat when we went on vacation. No fish were caught that day.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend already. The end of summer is near. I do love fall. It's my favorite season. Cool nights, colorful leaves, apple cider. And being able to knit with wool again! I can't stand touching it in the summer when it's hot.

I did get this little shawl done. It's so soft and delicate to the touch. It's made with Farmhouse yarns, a merino, silk, cotton blend. Just lovely!

I just love touching it.

I sewed a pair of slippers for my grandson. He loves Sponge Bob. I was so excited to find Sponge Bob fabric! Couldn't resist and had to use it for some slippers for him. He loves them!

Last winter the ladies in my knitting group started a group project. The Traveling Socks. Each person knits on these socks and passes to the next person, and so on. Mine finally made their way back to me, and I finished them off by doing the toe.

Aren't they crazy looking? I just love them! I will wear them with pride. And every time I wear them I will think of these ladies and smile. We have a lot of fun together. The most wonderful friends in the world!

Hope you have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Where did summer go?

Wow, Labor Day weekend coming up. Where did the summer go? It never really got all that hot here, one weekend of 90 degree days. But I don't like it real hot anyway. I like the cool nights, and 70 degree days. I've got a five day weekend coming up and let me tell you, I'm sure looking forward to it!

Not much else to talk about. I've got pictures of some stuff I bought when I went out of town. First some fabrics from various shops in the lake town. Beautiful and fun stuff! Wish I lived closer so I could take a class there.

And some more pretty fabrics. I can't get enough of them!

And some patterns from a very nice quilt shop in that area. So cute! My sister bought me the snowman pattern. Can't wait to make all this stuff.

And some miscellaneous crafting things I bought, the little wooden eggs are also from my sister.

I have more than enough to keep me busy for a long time. But soon there will be another sale ... somewhere, and I'll feel the urge to go and keep adding to the stash. Hard to stop. I look at it as stocking up for retirement.

I wish I was still at the lake

If I close my eyes, I can still imagine I'm up north at the lake. I wish I could click my heels like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and be there again. Next year I'll go back. I did get some fabulous fat quarters while there. I'm so addicted to them. Can't quit buying them.

There are still more out there that I don't have. I want them all!!!!!!

I did buy a pattern to make slippers. So I made a pair. This is my prototype. I screwed things up so now I know what to do next time. I have another pair cut out for my grandson. They will have Sponge Bob on them. I'll show you those when they are done. Here are mine.

I never thought I'd sew slippers, but I did it. Fun to make. And they don't take a lot of fabric. A good way to use fat quarters.

I finally finished the socks I was knitting in a Ravelry Knit-Along. Summer Lovin Socks.

They are not a bright pumpkin orange like that picture! I don't know why the color came out like that. The pattern was easy to follow. It took me 3 weeks to knit them, it felt like forever some days. Here's another picture which shows a more true color of them.

A burnt orange color. All in all I really like them. I should wear them today. It's been very fall-like around here the past couple of days. We went from extreme heat to cool temps. It's nice though not to be melting.