Happy Birthday !!!!

I am so thankful this beautiful Christmas morning for the wonderful blessing of Jesus!!!  He is the reason we are all able to rejoice and enjoy such a lovely Christmas morning!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this little blog too =^..^=

I never dreamed when I started this blog One Year Ago Today that I would  make 

370 wonderful new friends in 2012!!!!  

I treasure each and every one of you and I'm looking forward to getting to know you all better and making new friends too in 2013!!!

Let's drink to a wonderful, prosperous & joyous New Year!!!

A cup of hot chocolate that is =^..^=

And Miss Gypsy is enjoying her Christmas morning - in my lap as usual as I am typing up this blog :*D  She is feeling much better and recovering nicely.  She told me she wanted to send her thanks to you all for your prayers and well wishes!

Wishing you all a lovely Holiday season!!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa (and Gypsy)

=^..^=

It's beginning to look a lot like.....

Christmas!!!!

Can you believe we are just now putting up our tree?  I know - we're bums!!!  But seriously, we just simply haven't had time or opportunity before now.  Travel, 'flu, parties.... we're a busy couple of folks!  Things have been feeling a little upside down....

So today is officially Put-up-the-Tree day.  Honestly, I'm so glad our son and his family are coming the day after Christmas, because we would probably have opted out on putting up the tree this year otherwise.  And as we all know, it's not good to forego the tree!  Hubby is having *fun* now shaping it up and putting all the lights on it.  When he's done, then I'll decorate with the ornaments.  Perhaps I'll update with an "After" picture later tonight :*)

We hope to have the decorating done by game time.  I'll be stitching on my current Promises & Borders block today since I don't have my next Blue Collection block prepped for applique yet.  I'm joining up with Kathy and others doing some slow stitching today HERE.

I really need to get these P&B blocks done anyway.  I'm tired of working on them and need to get them off my plate!

I managed to steal a nice block of time for sewing on Easy Street Friday - whoohoo!!!  I got Clue #5 all cut out using the Sizzix cutter for the 3-1/2" squares....

and the same for the 2" purple squares.....

I have about a third of these blocks complete.  This is an easy block, so I'll probably finish them up before I go back and work on Clues 2-4 to catch up.

Drawing a line diagonally through squares is NOT one of my favorite ways to spend my time, so I used my Angler tool to sew the purple squares on.  

I thought I might show you how that works for those who have not tried the Angler tool.  It's quicker and easier for me, and no drawing lines!!!!!  You just position the squares so that the corner of the square you are sewing on sits on the center line of the Angler....

All the way to the end....

If you are interested in more information on this tool, there is a YouTube video HERE  to see more about how it works, and you can Google it to find several places to purchase it.  I'm not affiliated in any way of course, just sharing a tool that I like to use in this type of block :*D

I did enhance the stash just a little this week!  I won this great package of fabrics & a pattern from Marcia over at Marcia's Crafty Sewing & Quilting.  I just love these bright fabrics!!!  And down on the bottom right is a really fun quilty card she also included in the prize package.  Thanks Marcia!!!

I also added these two batiks that were very low on the bolt and crying to come home with me.....

Gotta love those colors, right???  Wow!!!

As for sweet Gypsy, she's not feeling very sweet right now LOL!!!  She actually feels a little more like this....

I'd update with a current picture of her, but she's off somewhere sleeping off the last dose of pain killers :*D  

Plus, she's really not looking her best, and every girl needs to look her best for the camera, right?  

She does seem to be doing better though, and we thank you all for your lovely thoughts and prayers!!!  I'll let her blog her thanks when she's feeling a little better.

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

Hugs & Blessings,

Teresa

=^..^=

Linking up with:

How Will She Eat?

Our Gypsy had to have six molars removed today!

She is 17 years old and we had been noticing little things lately that told us she wasn't feeling well.  And we could tell that she had lost some weight too.  Since she was diagnosed last year with diabetes, we decided to take her in for a check-up.  The good news is that her diabetes is still under control and there's no problem there.  The not-so-good news is that she is beginning to have a little kidney trouble, not bad yet but we have to change her food again.  It's a real problem trying to find a food that keeps both diabetes and kidney issues under control.  It was hard for us to hear about the kidney problem, because kidney disease is what took her sister from us last year.

The vet also said that she had some pretty bad molars that really needed to come out - like, all of them!  She had some of them removed about six years ago, and today he took out the rest.  They have to put them under for this and surgically remove the teeth.  Everything behind the canines is gone!  I asked the doctor, "How will she eat?"  But he said she has to have moist food anyway for her diet so it won't be a problem.  And he said she will probably actually eat better now because her teeth won't be hurting her anymore.  We really felt bad that we didn't know they were in that shape!  It had been a year since her last check-up, and they had progressed that quickly.

Bless her heart, she is feeling a little woozy tonight!  The vet gave her pain meds before we brought her home, and we just gave her another injection for the night.  I hope she sleeps well and doesn't hurt!  I'm not sure I could blog without my little blogging buddy helping me pick the right words!  This is how I blog more times than not =^..^=

I have to say though, even after surgery she looks better than me in my bedtime scruffies and scrubbed face!  :*D

Goodnight all :*)
Teresa
=^..^=

Catching up on Easy Street!

Bonnie may be taking it "Easy" on us for this mystery, but I'm still behind and treading water!

Hopefully, some of the craziness in our lives is behind us for a little while.  I think all the shopping is done - what a zoo!!! We only have one more trip to go - a day trip to Kentucky to have celebrate with my husband's family.  My poor husband was sick with the flu earlier this week, but he seems to be all better now thankfully!  Our daughter and her family were here for a little while, but now they have headed home to Savannah for the holidays, and no more company is expected until our son and his family arrive the day after Christmas for a couple of days.

So during this little lull in the holiday "storm," I plan to concentrate on getting caught up on Easy Street!

Clue #1 is DONE, and this is where I am on Clue #2.  

About half of the flying geese are done.

Part #3 and #4 are cut out but nothing sewn yet ....

I got my 3-1/2 strip die yesterday, so I went to work on cutting out my 3-1/2" squares today in the lime greens - YUM!!!!  

My friend Melissa from the blog, Doodle-head Stitches, got a new Sizzix cutter recently, so she came over this afternoon to play and learn some tips & tricks... not that I had very many to share being a fairly new owner myself.  But we sure did have fun anyway!  We played with this die, learning how to turn the strips and cut the squares from them on the cutter.  Notice how I marked a right-angle line on the die for laying the strips so I could get perfect squares?

It was nothing short of amazing to see how quickly these squares were done!

I know Clue #5 comes out tomorrow morning!  I'm going to have to decide whether I want to sew on these back clues, or go ahead and start on the new clue.  Right now, I am leaning toward getting these older clues caught up!

It was a cold and very blustery day in Nashville today!  But not cold enough for snow, 

so I don't expect a white Christmas in these parts.  I've seen some pictures 

of gorgeous winter wonderlands from some of my blogger friends.....  

Just so you know.....

I'm jealous! =^..^=

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Day of Silence for Remembrance & Prayer

Tuesday, December 18th, there will be a blogger day of silence. If possible, please try to not post anything other than the above button (feel free to right click and save the above image if you want to upload it to your own blog).

  

Money is also being raised that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy. The organization is called The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services. Here is the official description of the support service being donated to:

"Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.

ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING."

Please visit THIS PAGE to make your donation. 

And please feel free to copy and share - I did!!!

Hugs & Blessings! 
Teresa
=^..^=

2013 NewFO Challenge!

I'm linking up with Cat Patches to list the quilt projects that I "hope" to start next year for the 2013 NewFO Challenge.  


I certainly hope I do a better job of starting some of the quilts on this year's list than I did last year!  I looked back and realized I only started TWO of those on my list, although I did finish up three of the Calendar Quilts.  You can check out my poor neglected list HERE if you want to see what my hopeful projects were for last year.  

If you don't know about the Challenge, you can click on Barbara's cute button above to go and check it out. To participate in the Challenge, all you have to do is start a new project each month.  That's it!  You DON'T have to finish it, just start it.  Barbara gives a great prize to one winner each month.

Of course, my interests have changed since last year, so all new projects are going on my list for 2013.  All but one that is - I still really want to do Rabbits Prefer Chocolate!  =^..^=

2013 Proposed NewFO List

1.  Library Snuggle Quilt - No design yet, but these are some of the fabrics I'll be using.  This one will be for me!!!  You can read more about it HERE.....

2.  Rainbow Challenge Quilt - I blogged about the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for 2013 a few days ago - you can click HERE to see the blocks I am considering for this quilt.  I still haven't decided which design will be the lucky chosen one :*)    But here is a preview of one of my favorites....

3.  Rose Windows Medallion - What can I say?  This quilt took my breath away the first time I saw it.  I HAVE to make it!!!

4.  Folk Art Cats - This one is all Barbara's fault!  She started hers a few months ago and I started to drool immediately :*)

5.  In Flight Butterflies - I can't wait to start this one!  I've been collecting the fabrics, and I think I'm ready to go :*)

6.  Bohemian Butterflies - (my name for it!)  I just think this is such a bright, happy FUN QUILT!  And I have a lot of fun quirky prints to make it up with.

7.  Miniature Storm at Sea - This is a laser-cut batik kit that I bought from John Flynn's website last year.  I plan to throw some oranges and yellows into the mix to brighten this one up a little.

8.  Neutral Scrappy Nines - I am going "green" on this one - using all recycled men's shirts!

9.  Jewel of Jerusalem - This one will be for my brother who is one of the smartest people I know on the subject of the Hebrew faith and traditions.

10.  Talkin' Turkey - A Bonnie Hunter quilt.  Several of us will be doing this one together as a sit-n-sew group starting in January :*)  She is coming to our Guild this spring, so I will probably end up starting a few more of hers too... sure glad I don't have to finish them this year!!!

11.  Urban Abacus or Urban Deco Nine-Patch - these are Jenny Pedigo's designs on her blog Sew Kind of Wonderful, using her Quick Curve Ruler.  I can't decide which design I want to do, so I'll just show this one for now.  I do have the pattern for this one, so it has a real good chance of being the one I start.

I really like this scrappy version too!

12.  Rabbits Prefer Chocolate - This is still one of my favorite quilts!

Well, that's it for me.  I'm inspired and excited about starting these fun projects in 2013!  And just in case you were wondering - Yes, I do know that I am probably certifiably insane LOL!!!  

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

And the Winner is.....

I just LOVED reading all your comments about your Grandma's kitchens!  They brought back so many great memories of my own grandmother :*)

I did seem to strike a chord with readers with this question!  So many thanked me for helping them get in touch with some wonderful memories that they hadn't thought about in quite a while :*)  And it became clear very quickly that many of us miss these dear Grandma's in our lives!

It was really interesting to me to learn what a lot of you remembered about your grandmother's kitchens.  Of course, some of you did not have the privilege of remembering her because she was gone before you were born or soon after, or you lived too far away to get to know her.  It really made me sad when I read those comments, and I hope that there were women in your life who filled that gap for you.  Many of these shared that they are now making wonderful memories for their own children or grandchildren!

Smells played a huge part in our memories of Grandma's kitchen - of course!  Who could resist the smells of homemade biscuits, pies and cookies???  Sunday dinners around Grandma's table?  Yum, Yum!!!  Our Grandma's knew how to cook!!!  There were quite a few interesting dishes mentioned.  Martha shared that her grandmother made something called a "cat's head biscuit" - I was very curious about that and just plain fascinated!  I'm hoping, of course, that no real cat's heads were involved LOL!!!

I loved that we also remember little details about their kitchens.  Their cups or plates or glasses, and especially their tables.  Apparently many memories are made sitting at Grandma's table!  Kathy H said that when her grandmother made pies, she had a special tiny pie plate for Kathy to make her own small pie too - what a fun Grandma!!!  Wood stoves and decorations.  One reader shared that her grandmother had a piano in her kitchen!

A lot of readers shared stories of their Grandmas doing little things to make them feel loved and special to them.  Is there anything bigger in this world than a Grandma's heart???

Thanks so much to all who shared your stories - you blessed my heart! I wish I could share all the stories here!  You helped me remember so many wonderful details of my own grandmother that I had forgotten :*)

We could only have one winner of all these goodies, however, and Mr. Random Number Generator picked #150!



Comment #150 was from a new follower - Deb@asimplelifequilts!

Deb@asimplelifequilts has left a new comment on your post "It's a Party!!!": 

My sister and I used to take turns helping Grandma dry the dishes (something we never did at home!). I dropped a cup and broke it. I felt so terrible! My Grandma told me she never liked that cup anyway and I loved her for saying that even though I knew she did. Thanks for a great giveaway! 

Deb blogs over at Quilting and Other Therapy - you should check it out HERE!!!




I hope you all had as much fun as I did in Michele's Birthday Blog Hop Giveaway!!! And I hope you won some wonderful goodies :*D

Hugs & Blessings! 
Teresa 
=^..^=

SSS & Stash Enhancement - 12-16-2012

Wondering what "SSS" is?  That's Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching which I decided to abbreviate for my post title's sake - I sure hope she doesn't mind :*)

I should finally have the hand applique done on this block by the end of today - whoopie!!!  That will really only leave one inside block for me to do on this quilt other than that center bowl of fruit that cannot be applied until I assemble the center and applique down that braided tree.  Lots of work yet before that happens!

Maggie Walker - The Blue Collection

Then I will have all the outer blocks to finish up with those tall vases full of leaves... eye-yi-yi!!!  But hey, I'm farther along than when I started right?  LOL!!!

Now, before I share stash enhancement, let me show you my exciting win from Sew We Quilt, Madame Samm's Books for Women by Women event.  What a great series!  Madame Samm's blog is the place to visit every day for lots and lots of interesting things going on!  Rare is the day I don't get over there to find out what she's up to :*D  I won this book - you can read the review HERE - and all the wonderful items shown below - including that amazing box of Aurifil threads!!!!  Oh yes!  I squealed!!!!

Great book broken down into daily installments, designed to help you grow in self acceptance.
I'm enjoying it immensely!

Aren't these just absolutely YUMMY!?!!!  I'm just itching to get down to business playing with these wonderful threads :*)  Aurifil is the only thread I use anymore for piecing.  It is so thin that it doesn't add bulk to my seams and a spool of it lasts quite a long time.  And yet it is strong enough to keep from breaking easily - unlike some other threads I have tried in the past!  I'm planning to try some of these on some machine applique - I bet they are going to look great!  Thanks again Madame Samm!!!

Now, I'm also excited to share some Stash Enhancement!  First, I received this wonderful fabric from my friend Barbara over at Cat Patches.  If you haven't visited Barbara, you need to go there ASAP!  Cat Patches is one of my favorite blogs, and it doesn't take long to figure out why once you visit :*)

We both worked on the Promises & Borders blocks from Jenny of Elefantz this year, and Barbara had purchased 3 yards of this fabric to use as her backing  .....

.....but then she changed her mind and used something else.  When she asked if I could use it for my project, I jumped at that deal before she could change her mind :*D  Look how nice it looks with the colors I have used in my stitching!  It couldn't be more perfect!

Then I fell into temptation when Connecting Threads moved some of their fabric collections into the Clearance section - some that I had been eyeing for a while, like these half-yard cuts of batik snowflake prints.... just $4.84/yd!

And then I really got into trouble when their Library collection went on Clearance!  At $3.56/yd, I got enough of these fun prints to make a good-sized lap quilt for me!  And these fabrics feel really nice - good quality at such a great price - can you blame me for giving in?!?  (They've still got a lot of great fabrics on sale by the way!)

The blue on the left will be the backing, the dark blue with book circles will be the outer border, the lime books print will be an inner border, and the print on the right will be used like a panel in the center.  Look at all the fun designs in there....  =^..^=

These are just a few of the complementary prints that I added to the mix.  I'm not sure of the design yet, but I couldn't wait around and risk them selling out.

This is the backing, but I will also use it in the quilt top.  I also got a half yard in yellow :*)
Don't you just love this library card print?

I just drooled over these book prints!  Classic!!!

This will definitely be one of my 2013 NewFO Challenge projects (also at Cat Patches)!  I can't wait to dig into making this up so I can cuddle up with a good book :*)  

Are you adding new goodies to your stash?  You can see more Stash Reports at Judy's Patchwork Times!

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=