This Will Thrill You!

Okay, I lied - nothing is going to thrill you on this post.  I've had a miserable cold the past couple weeks and am just now starting to feel a little bit better - at least right now.  Ask me again in an hour and I might be sleeping again!  I think that I'm right in there with about a million other people running around with something, but this cold/flu thing has really kicked my butt!

So stitching progress as been minimal and also haphazard.  There was a little bit of knitting thrown in and a little quilting, but mainly cutting out pieces with the quilting in my more lucid moments.   When I'd sit down to stitch or knit, I seemed to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

Ann Rayner is coming along slowly:

This sampler is much more colorful than I thought it would be.  Happy colors and I do like that I used a lighter fabric for her.  I would have been much further along with her, but a rather large frog came to visit and I had to rip out about half of the first alphabet and the golden dividing border because - well, let's just say that I didn't pay attention to detail and dear Ann added an extra stitch between one of the flower buds going across the top.  But I wasn't going to tear out the bud border, so....and of course, no one will be wiser (except people who read my blog)......I'm just extending the top border over one stitch and problem solved. I posted the second picture because there wasn't a stitch marked right under the left corner, and the more I look at it, I'm put off by it, so I'm going to put in a stitch there when I pull the color again.  I must really have an anal side to me because I like everything to be even.

After realizing that I had to frog out so much on Miss Rayner, I put her down in disgust and picked up another Ann - Ann Hall, although I didn't get much done on her either:

I just managed to get some of the grass in, the star-like motifs next to Adam and Eve, the dogs (except the collars) and most of the deer.  For some reason I got bored with that, and picked up a new one - well not really new, I've had it in stash for a while, but it kind of broke my resolution of working on WIPs - Janet Gibson:

Thrilling, huh?  NOT!  The only reason I haven't gone further on this is that I can't decide whether I should use two strands (the block is in two strands) or one strand (the vine is in one strand).  I know that a lot of stitchers will cringe at the thought of using two strands on 35 count, but that is my standard operating procedure.  But I'm using NPIs on this one and even though you can't tell by the picture, the fabric is rather dark (Meadowrue) so I'd like the design to pop from the fabric.  So decisions, decisions.  One strand or two?

So there you have it - two weeks of work.  As I said, I've been spending a lot of time either sleeping or just lazing.  But hopefully things will improve from this point on.  The only other thing that's really happened is  that my poor tired eyes have finally reached the stage of needing enhancement for distance.  Yes, I need glasses!  I've worn them for stitching, but never for distance.  Me, being a brave sole, decided that I'm too vain to wear glasses and need contacts.

Now, promise you won't laugh.  I went through the exam with flying colors - only took me 5 minutes to figure out how to put the contacts in and take them out.  Went joyfully skipping out of the doctors office finding everything to be so sharp - I could see everything so well.  Wow, does that red sign really say STOP?  Okay, I wasn't that bad, but I could definitely see an improvement.

Fast forward 5 hours and it was time to take them out.  No problem!  Or so I think.  I couldn't get them out!!!  I'm panicking - am I going to have to make a trip to the emergency room (I should note here that my eye doctor is an hour away so I couldn't just jump in my car and go down the street)?  What the heck am I going to do?  Okay, I tell myself to calm down and walk away and come back.  You whipped those babies in and out at the Doctor's office, you can certainly do it now.  I sit down ready to do battle and I still can't get them out!  OY!  Now I should mention that this was the day that my cold was rearing it's ugly head - my eyes were tired, scratchy, watery and I - well, I was at a loss.

But the problem was solved in short order.  My daughter had a friend over who wore contacts.  She washed her hands and whipped them out of my eyes in a nano-second.  I was embarrassed, but she tried to reassure me that it happens to a lot of people (yeah right - I swear I heard her comment to my daughter that it never happened to her.  They probably both had a good laugh)!  Anyway, I haven't put them in since.  Yes, just call me chicken!!!  Maybe when the cold is completely gone........

And last but not least, I have a new member of the sewing machine family.  One day when I went out on a quick errand, I passed an estate sale.  Even though I wasn't feeling my best, I decided to just stop in - you just never know what you'll find.  Well, I guess the Gods were shining on me trying to make me feel better because I have another addition:

This little machine is a tiny one.  And sitting next to her was a small spinning wheel.  I couldn't resist either one, and the price was so reasonable for both of them, I just couldn't pass them up.  I need to spend a little time today cleaning them up.  These sewing machines and I are going to have to stop meeting like this because I'm running out of room!

Well, that's it for me!  I'm going to try to slowly catch up on blogs today - as long as my eyes stay open.  I think that I've missed a lot over the past couple week or so!!  Hope everyone has a stitchy week - and stays well!

Such a Lackluster Month!

I looked at the calendar today and asked myself, "Self - what the heck happened to January?"  I think I said that last month and the month before too!  OY!  So little progress on anything and I've been trying like the devil.  My mojo is back, but there definitely seems to be a lack of time due to all that life stuff.  So before the end of the month hits us and we're into February, I figured I'd make a post on my rather lackluster doings in the craft world the past few weeks.  Finger's crossed February will be a more productive month.

First off, stitching on AWFAA has been really bad.  I went great guns on this sampler and then peetered out on the fill in - but I've loving the colors:

I was warned about how intensive that fill in can be, but I like fill-in stitching when I feel like being mindless and not having to refer to a chart much.  Obviously, I didn't have a lot of time to be mindless this month.

But there was other stitching.  I joined Becky's challenge and promptly picked out a piece to stitch.  But I changed my mind.  I really didn't want to start something "brand" new.  My goal this year is to finish up WIPs and work on stash where things are kitted and ready to go.  The operative phrase this year is, "Do not spend money - you own a small craft shop in the basement"!!!  Anyway, last year I had started Ann Rayner and got all of this far on my one day of stitching:

Wow! Leaves you breathless by all I got done, doesn't it?  LOL  Anyway, this was on 40 count linen and I just knew that when I came to the over one stitching, I would not be a happy camper.  So I restarted it:

This time I'm working it on 32 count Cafe au Lait and liking it much better.  Excuse the wrinkle marks.  For some reason, the fabric relaxed back and now I have wrinkles!  UGH!  Anyway, while I'm sure that it's a travesty to do this sampler on a whiter and larger larger count linen, it's a welcome break from working on the 40 count fabric that AAWFAA is on (and a lot of my other starts from last year also).  So this will be my challenge piece - it's a new start for the new year.

I also finally tamed the savage beast with the knitting and got those YO's down pat and started on my daughter's scarf.  I had quite a bit of yarn left over from the Guernsey scarf and DD picked out a pattern, asked for a gray scarf and this is where I am - probably 1/3 finished - she wants a long scarf:

It goes rather quickly with repeats of eight rows.  I'm almost loving it so much, I might have to make one for myself!!

Then I've been doing some quilting.  In that attempt to get rid of WIPs both in stitching and quilting, I went back to the Farmer's Wife and was able to attach three more rows of blocks.  I really, really wanted to start working on the Cotton Club (a BOM that I started receiving last year), but I just knew that if I did that, the Farmer's Wife would just remain a pile of blocks (you can click on the picture for a close-up, but please excuse any stray threads).

I love this quilt more and more as I get each row attached.  When I got to the next row of blocks, I hit a road block and in trimming down the blocks to prepare them for the sashing, I found that one block - if I trimmed it down to the correct size, I would be sewing too far into the block and not have points!  UGH!  So that is a block that I will have to redo.  At that point, I stopped putting rows together until I could remake that block.  Then I realized that I didn't have to follow the book exactly and line my blocks up like the designers.  No, this is my quilt and I could do what I want! (why am I suddenly hearing Leslie Gore's song, "It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To" in my head?????)  Anyway, I'll leave that block until the end and put it there.  There is one other block that I have to redo because - well, it looked like a volcano at the end of putting it together - so when I'm in the piecing mood I'll make those two blocks over again.

And last but not least, I did a little bit of handwork.  Now, normally I hate handwork.  I used to do it all the time when I made dresses and costumes for my daughter, but ask me today to sew on a button or anything like that, and I run in the other direction.  I don't seem to have the patience for it (probably why I don't hand applique).  But I had a couple small kits for scissor fobs that I had received from my Guild and we're to receive another one next month, so since it's a good thing to clean out some stash, and the fact that my bazillon pairs of scissors mostly do not have fobs, I made up the couple kits that I had - a watermelon and strawberry:

And you know, I so enjoyed doing them, that I searched around for some more things to do.  Maybe there is hope for an applique quilt yet.

And I'll leave you with this picture:

Now what's so interesting about this picture you ask?  Well, it snowed yesterday.  Why was I excited?  It was coming down in huge flakes and the ground was covered!  We here in Michigan have been snow starved this year.  We'll get a little bit and then it warms up and melts, and I don't think that the ground has been covered yet this year.  In fact, it's been so unseasonably warm here that Ice Festivals and tournaments that are held on the lakes have been postponed for a month, hoping that February will be more seasonable.  So the snow is a beautiful thing to see.  Even my daughter smiled when she saw the snow.  Alas, I understand that it will be short lived.  I hear temps are rising again in a day or two!

So that's the report this time around.  Not much for 20 days of work.  But all those little bits of progress will eventually end up in a finish, right? I've managed to find a couple new things to add to the craft room (yes, one or two more sewing machines among other things), and some vintage things from my grandmother that I discovered in a box in addition to some things I had as a child.  It's always a delight to find those things especially when they are from family.

Hope that everyone has a great week!

Getting Back to My Routine???

The kids are all back to school (DS went back yesterday - YAHOO) and maybe now I can get back to my routine!!  Okay, you probably think I'm a horrible mother.  I love my son!!  But I don't love all the extra laundry, constant piles of dishes in the sink and the basement looking like a frat house and him thinking that noon is too early to get up!  But I'll be missing him.  A lot!  He's always so much fun.   But now that everyone is back to their respective routines, I can get back to mine and the more crafty things in life - like stitching.  I haven't done a lot of that.

But as each new year arrives, I think we all think about starting something new.  That was my first thought as we all know that I love starting new things.  But I decided that after my severely lackluster performance in the January Challenge last year (starting 15 projects) - of which I completed a big fat goose egg - I decided to go a different route, and make 2012 the year of the WIPS.  Why not - there are all those projects started from last year.  Makes sense, right?  So I joined Measi's WIPocalypse.  Get those WIPS all off my plate (well, maybe not all - that would take about 10 years!!!).

So I picked up AAWFAA.  When we last left this sampler at the beginning of last year, this was where I was - did I happen to mention that I HATED this cloud?

And this is where I am now (I'm loving the colors):

Not a huge amount finished, but not too bad for the first week of the new year.  There's a lot of backstitching on this puppy, and on 40 ct. fabric no less.  My eyes are having a hard time adjusting, but since I'm about to get a new pair of glasses, I think that it will be a lot easier to see and I won't get out of my chair cross-eyed.

Then, as usual, within a few days I was dreaming about starting something new.  Figures, right?  Well, a solution presented itself.  I happened to be reading blogs one day and saw Becky's challenge for the year - start something new, post updates during the year, and win a prize!  Okay, I'm all in for that!!  What's ONE new project?  Just one little project?  Well, it has to be 10 x 12, so not that little, but absolutely doable!!  So I've got my project picked out, but can't decide on the fabric - I've had two false starts as I didn't like my fabric choices, so I'll reveal it in my next post.  But I'm giddy about starting something new.

On other needles, I've been doing knitting.  After I finished the Guernsey shawl, I proceed to start a scarf for my daughter.  Could I get the pattern?  Could I make the yarn overs right?  NO!!!!  I sat there pulling out my hair wondering why I couldn't do it.  It's not like I haven't knit before.  But the correct way of yarn overs eluded me.  Even with YouTube videos.  I kept telling myself I've done this before, but it just wasn't working.  To prove my point that I can knit, I pulled a couple out of my son's drawer that I made for him when he was a little boy:

So there's your proof.  I once knew how to knit.  But those skills have flown out the window it seems.  So I have been knitting, but simple things - no yarn overs.

Gathered Scarf

Crazy Zauberball yarn

Combined Patterns

Boneyard Shawl and So Easy I Can't Even Stand it Triangular Scarf

The Gathered Shawl is my "take with" project when I take my daughter to dance because there isn't too much you can mess up on something that is just stockinette stitch.  Well, I shouldn't say that.  I was a lot further along on that scarf and did mess it up and had to take a good portion of it out, but I think that I'm back on track now!

Oh, and I have to mention that a couple nights ago I was laying in bed and it came to me how to do those yarn overs the right way!!  Figures.  So once one of these projects is finished, I can get on with something a little more elaborate.  

So that's my first week of January.  Not tons, but a good start.  Now I need to get some quilting in!!!

How are you doing on your goals so far?  Do you have any?  Did you join a Challenge or WIPocalypse?

An Early Happy New Year and Reflecting on the Past Year

I know that it's been almost two months since I've posted (where has the time gone???) and I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas and will have a Happy, Stitchy New Year.

I figured now was a good time to climb out of my hole and reflect on what I've accomplished in the past year and get on the blogging bandwagon again.  I know that I've missed tons and hope to catch up in the next weeks.  I've missed all of you and all the projects that you've been working on.  I think that I went through some kind of slump in the crafty arena, (well, I don't think - I know), but it's time to brush off those needles (whether they be stitching or knitting needles) and get the show on the road.

Many things have gone on the past couple of months - mostly for the good.  I took my annual trip to New York (I just love that place) and finally managed to get into the Tinsel Trading Company (note here:  if you plan on going to NYC, call the shop, don't rely on the website - the hours are wrong!!!).  What a fantastic store.  Truly overwhelming with all the buttons, trims and miscellaneous things.  I could have spent hours there!  I picked up the cutest angel (among other things) while I was there:

Isn't she the sweetest?  The weather was fantastic (almost mid-70's by the time I left) and I had a wonderful time with my sister!  It's always fun to spend time with her.

In reflecting on the year in stitching - this hasn't been a stellar year.  I seem to be a "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" as they say (read "Crafters ADD).  So here's what I accomplished in the last year.  It's always fun to see what the past twelve months have produced:

Row 1: Turning Twenty Quilt, Yellow Brick Road Quilt, Ann Medd (five years in the making)

Row 2: Elizabeth Clayton Sampler, Sarah Esh Sampler, Blackbird Designs Pincushion

Row 3: Tumbler Quilt, Farmer's Wife Blocks (all 111 even of them), Sun and Moon Sampler

Row 4: Mirabilia Deepest Love, Schibbles Recess Quilt, Guersney Shawl

As you can see, I got my hands into a little bit of everything!  And no, the Farmer's Wife Quilt is not completely put together, but I figured that finishing 111 blocks was a feat unto itself, and counted as a finish!!  And there's not a lot of stitching here.  Now, that's not to say that I haven't done more stitching than you see, it's just that they're not finished - because as we all know I'm a habitual starter (remember I was one of those crazed people that started those 15 projects last January, of which I don't think that I finished one).  Well, I've pulled a couple of those out and plan on finishing them up in 2012.  Not all 15 mind you, but a few.

Knitting has seemed to have taken me over by storm.  The Guernsey shawl was so much fun to work on (thanks Di for pointing me in this direction).  I should note that the shawl is a darker grey then shows up here, but I overexposed it somewhat so that you can see the pattern.  Once it's blocked, I'll have my daughter model it.  That has kind of set the stage for more knitting, but I'll save those for the next post.

One piece that I've done a little bit of stitching on is this:

I finally got Adam and Eve into Ann Hall!  Now that I see this picture, I think that I need to put the knitting down and put a little bit more into this sampler.  I still have tons of room on the sampler wall.

Other than that - not too much else is going on!  I did some antiquing on Long Island with my sister and we found some great shops, but the sweetest thing I've picked up recently was another machine for the ever growing small sewing machine collection.

I think that I'm up to 12 machines now.  One day I'll have to take a picture of all of them.  My husband lifts an eyebrow every time he walks into the craft room (which is seldom) and asks, "Is that new"?  And I answer him no, it's been there - it's old.  Because, in fact, it really is old - so that doesn't count as a lie, does it?  LOL

So that's just about been it for me the past two months.  Like I mentioned, I went through a slump of gigantic magnitudes, but I think that I'm back now.

I want to thank those that sent me notes of kind words while I was kind of off the blogging path.  They've meant a lot to me - knowing that you were wondering what I was up to.  I've made some wonderful friendships through blogging and I cherish each and every one - so hearing from you really made me smile and kind of got me back on the path again.  I do have to admit that I've been lurking in the background here and there, but haven't really had time to make comments. But I know that comments are what drives us to do what we do and I plan to get back to that.  Call it a New Year's Resolution!  I dare not make those for my stitching progress, however.  I've learned my lesson with making stitching resolutions! We know that I always break those!! 

I wish all of you a very Happy, Prosperous and Stitchy New Year!!!

Seriously Bad Blogger!!!

Well, October was just about a wash around here for getting much of anything done and I have been such a bad blogger - I apologize!  Things have just been so busy that I honestly haven't spent much time on the computer.  I thought that life was suppose to get easier once you got one child off to college and the other one was old enough to take care of herself (for the most part).  But that doesn't seem to be!!  I hope that you didn't come to see what I was up to expecting grand finishes!  This has been such a wild month that not a thing has been finished - not a stinkin' thing.  But as we all love finishes, in keeping with the time of the year, I present this:

Witches Brew

No, this just didn't come hot off my sewing machine.  I haven't had a finish in what seems like months!  So pathetic.  So I have to show something that I made a long time ago and since today is Halloween, I thought it would be perfect.  Actually, this was a model that I made for a shop quite a few years ago, and I always got to keep the models I made.  I never quilted it as I actually don't hang it up.  I suppose I should - so today it's hanging from my craft room door.

And it reminded me of another quilt that I made around the same for my son when he was little.  I'm sure I'll probably see one or two Pokemon characters trick or treating for candy tonight.  Is Pokemon still popular?  I'm not sure if it is, but when my son was little he lived and breathed Pokemon:

 

I remember being so excited to see this quilt in a magazine while I was grocery shopping.  I ran home and ordered the fabric and had it finished within a week after receiving the material.  Which poses the question. Now that my kids are older, why don't I get more things done???  Hmmmmm.

So what have I accomplished this month?  Well, not much.  As I said it's been one of those months.  DD sprained her foot quite severely so that Pointe ballet is something that she can't do at the moment - tap and jazz she seems to manage now that a couple weeks have passed, but getting on her toes doesn't seem obtainable right now.  DS came down with Pneumonia while at school (I knew this would happen because he doesn't know when to slow down) which meant some trips up to see him.  I broke a tooth eating of all things, a peanut butter sandwich, which necessitated a trip to the dentist.  Well, more than one trip - a few trips.  Actually quite a few - for two crowns as one tooth broke and a filling was cracked in another.  I wonder where the dentist is planning on going on vacation this year - on my dime???

Then on top of that, I had an incredibly busy day one day a couple weeks ago - in and out of the house all day.  The final trip was to DD's dance class.  Just before we left she told me that she needed pink hair spray for something at school the next day - Pink Day if I remember right for Breast Cancer Awareness.  We were running late for dance as it was and having to make an unexpected stop at the Halloween store was something I hadn't planned on.  Well, it true scattered form, I fly out of the driveway and BAM!!!  Straight into my husband's car!!!  Can you say OUCH!  Two cars with smashed parts!  Not just a scrape, but major league damage!!  My husband's worse than mine.  Did I mention that a couple days prior we had really high winds and something flew through the air and shattered my son's windshield in the driveway?  OY!  And as you can imagine my husband was oh, so pleased that I decided to play bumper cars!  Oh well, he'll get over it!  LOL

So what have I accomplished?  I knew you'd ask!!  I'm still working on my sister's mermaid.  I've got 20 days to get this baby finished.  I thought I'd be done with it last week!  HA!  What was I thinking?

She's coming along and she's quite pretty, but I still have a lot to do on her.  For some reason I thought that I could just whip this out!  I guess not!  LOL  Notice the little crab needle holder?  That was a gift from Terri that she picked up when she was in Georgia.  I figured it was the perfect needle holder to use with this mermaid.  I think that it's become my favorite because the magnet is incredibly strong.

I have managed to get a little quilting done.  I abandoned the Civil War Chronicles quilt for a while as I was getting tired of making a million half-square triangles - those things just drive me nuts!!  So I went with something easy:

Recess

Miss Rosie's Quilts - Schnibbles

This one is a lot of fun and almost a non-brainer since my brain seems to be in some scrambled mode lately.  Just exactly what I needed.  I've never made a Schnibbles quilt before just because the size is so small, but it's been a lot of fun to work on.

Then because of my crazy fascination with Pinterest as of late and pinning all things crafty, I got the urge to do some crocheting and managed to make a couple blocks for a afghan that will probably be done, in my normal slow fashion, in about 5 years.

This afghan is comprised of 63 different blocks.  Two down - only 61 more to go!   It makes a great carry-along project when DD dances since the lighting in the studio isn't conductive to stitching even with my little scroll light.

Then because the knitting/crocheting thing is just calling my name, I had to indulge in these:

I've never been attracted to Granny squares all that much, but for some reason this afghan is just calling my name!  No, I haven't started and probably won't for a few weeks, but I think that the afghan is just so pretty (and also is the same colorway of one the quilts that I use on the beds).

And last but not least, I discovered another sewing machine for my sewing room.  No, not a big one - just a small one discovered at a local flea market that was held a week or so ago:

I'm starting to accumulate a lot of these.  I'm going to run out of room soon, but it's so hard to resist buying them when you find them for the right price

Well, there you have it - the month in review!   I'm hoping that the next month is better, but it's going to be another busy one with my DD's confirmation coming up and my annual trip to NY.  I can't wait for that.  I'm hoping the weather holds up and they're not hit by a snowstorm like this weekend.  How freaky is that?    But with fingers crossed, the mermaid will be done and I can go on to finish up (or start) other things.

Happy Stitching (and if you can, send some stitching time to me)!!  :o)

Is it the Change in the Season?

Gosh guys, I've missed you!!!  I've been so remiss on reading blogs lately.  I think that the changes of the season must do things to people, right?  Well, it definitely has done something to me.  I've been in the worse stitching/quilting slump that you can imagine!  I have a million things that I want to make and then I look at them and walk away.   Probably because after the crazy summer we had around here, I'm still playing catchup.  But it also usually means that I need to look for a change of pace, and I think that I've found it, but I'll get to that in a bit.

Since I last posted anything of substance (which was over a month), I've made some progress on Ann Hall:

I was happily stitching along on dear Ann and then I got bored!  How could I go that when I was getting to the part where I could stitch in Adam and Eve?  Well, I don't know what came over me, but I went on to And All Was For An Appil (another Adam and Eve).  But you're not going to see a picture of that one because after a few nights it dawned on me that in less than two months is my annual trip to New York (insert a Woo Hoo here) to see my sister.  Now I've been promising my sister that I'd make her another Mirabilia mermaid, and being the procrastinator that I am I've been putting it off and putting it off, but I figured that I better get going on it.  So I dumped AAWFAA like a hot potato and picked up Deepest Love by Mirabilia.  Not my normal stitching fare, but I do like her:

Then I worked a little bit on a scarf that I started last year and hopefully I'll finish it this year:

An entrelac scarf using Noro Taiyo yarn.  It's fun to work on but I've only gotten that last row on in the past few weeks.  I figured this would be a great "take-with" project while my daughter dances now that her dance hours are later and I can't get into too much trouble in the malls (darned it!).  Another thing that has really caught my fancy are these babies and I think these are the change of pace I needed:

Photo curtesy of Ravelry (Love!!!)

Cute pincushions (More Love!!)

Crocheted Hexie Afghan (Even more love)

About the hexie afghan - yes, yes, I know - I was working on some quilted ones a while ago and they're still here, but there is something so soothing to me lately about the thought of crocheting.  You know, cooler weather, football game on the TV and the warm feel of wool.  So obviously I'm going through some changes like the seasons.

Oh, before I forget, my friend Di, who is the most fantastic stitcher, quilter and just about everything else person, set up a new blog and you have got to see her hand pieced hexi quilt (among other things), so check out her new blog and say "Hi Ya" when you have a chance:  On My Needle.  She does some remarkable things.

And I have to make a confession right here and now - all those pictures of knitting/crocheting are courtesy of Pinterest.  Have you taken a look at that sight?  Have you been sucked into the vortex of pages and pages of things to do, decorating ideas, food, photography?  Unfortunately, I have to confess that I have and I couldn't be happier that I've found all those wonderful things.  If you haven't taken a look, you're in for a lot of inspiration and a lot of time sucking!  Believe me on the time sucking thing!!!  I have a link on my sidebar (I think it will take you there or to the general site).  Take a look, and then put the coffee pot beside you and some provisions - you'll be there for a while!!!

Okay - back to reality!!  When I've been wandering around trying to figure out what I wanted to do, but couldn't get myself to sit down, I messed around in the craft room a little bit.  In fact, I'm changing the whole room around once again (enough already you say - get to sewing and quit messing around!  LOL).  I finally got a quilt rack up after trying to figure out how to do it (the wall was bowed in the middle - basement walls are not always the flattest) and this is the result:

A few of my children's vintage sewing machines and pincushions.  The quilt still needs to be quilted, but thought I'd just hang it up for effect.  I'm working on the last wall in my room as we speak, but it's going to take a while as one piece of the necessary furniture won't be here for a week or so.

In the antiquing finds category,  I'll show you the frogs I've accumulated since the summer up to about now:

The amber frog on the top right was a gift from Terri for my birthday, and the other ones I found here and there.  I was surprised to find the pink one in the lower middle, as I've usually only seen them clear like the one on the bottom left.  Here's a better picture of the two latest:

And last but not least, I got two surprises in the mail last month and I was just tickled.  These were from Mindi who had just started a blog.  I was her first follower and she sent me these absolutely wonderful things for being her first follower:

I was so surprised when the package appeared in the mail.  Thank you so much Mindi and I'm glad that I was your first follower!  And I just realized that there was a fob that matched the pillow that I didn't take a picture of.

There is it - and on the back is the initial "D".

And my dear friend Loraine sent me this package:

An adorable Welcome pillow which will hang from my craft room door, a marking pen that disappears (perfect for quilting) and The Angler 2.  I was complaining to her about the millions of half-square triangles I had to make for the Civil War quilts and she said that she had just the thing!!  I can't wait to try it out.  And she also sent a piece of wonderful fabric.

Well, I think that's about all for me today.  My son came home from school again this weekend.  I'm not sure if he came to see us or came home because the football game was away and he needed clothes washed (probably the latter reason), and DD is getting ready for the Homecoming Dance at her school this evening.  I'm still having a hard time believing that she's in high school, but I think that we've all experienced that feeling before.

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend, and I promise not to be a stranger now.  I've really missed reading blogs and seeing what everyone is doing!

Winner of My Giveaway!

Thanks to everyone that entered my blogoversary giveaway!  I can't believe how many entries there were.  It was fun reading the comments and finding out what people were working on.  Many are working on the same things and probably don't even know it.  And some people were working on things that I had completely forgotten about which made me going through my stash looking at them - funny how you forget some things that are in your stash!!

So without further ado, the winner is:

#40

MOUSE

Woo Hoo!  Email me with you snail mail addy and I'll get these in the mail to you ASAP!

And thank you to everyone who entered the drawing!!