Random Monday

Because, really, what else is Monday good for?

We've all had colds all last week, I think we're finally on the mend.  Sam and I went to see mum and my aunt yesterday, I got to drive his new car and it's more comfortable than mine.  That's not fair.  But we had fun.



I came home with my aunt's crutches.  I have a subluxated tarsus or something unpronounceable.  Colonials are fun with crutches.

The leaves are falling fast.  It's getting a bit brown around here - but there are some bright spots, the mums are gorgeous.



On the way to my aunt's, we saw this lady I've been seeing on the road for over a year now - she has a bright green car, and she decorates it for every holiday!



You should see her Christmas decorations, they're wonderful!



She saw us taking pics, and smiled and waved and honked - I would LOVE to meet her.  I bet she's a lot of fun.

It hasn't been all fun and games around here, I actually have been stitching my little fingers off - wanna see?



Hm, must have cropped that a little close.  Well, you'll see it sometime.  *G*

Have you been to Jenny's lately?  Did you join her new stitchery club?  *swoon*  And today she has free Christmas designs for us!!  Anything Jenny creates makes me so happy....that girl is too talented for words!  I'm so blessed to call her friend and sister-in-Christ.

So do tell - how is your Random Monday going???

Blogger's Quilt Festival

So glad to be joining in this time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival from Amy's Creative Side - I've missed it the last few times!  Today I'm entering my latest quilt, and the only finish I have for this year.  Live A Little!



I had a lot of fun working on this quilt.  I was caregiving for my aunt from the beginning of May, she had fallen and broken her hip, so I moved in to take care of her.  I was also working full-time, so had no time for sewing!  In late August, my mom [a diabetic] ended up hospitalized with a bad wound on her foot, and she moved in to my aunt's house as well so I could take care of both of them - it was good to have them in one place.  By that time I had lost my job, and brought some hand-sewing to my aunt's.  Live A Little was born out of a need to make something happy.



I spent many days sitting in the car at doctor's offices, stitching away, enjoying the slow process and the happy fabrics.  This quilt was mainly done by hand - blanket stitch around the fusible applique, and hand quilted.  I didn't have a machine with me, or I would have been done a lot faster!  But it got me through a lot this summer, and I'm thankful.  Mum and my aunt are both on the mend now, I'm back home, and Live A Little hangs on my wall and reminds me to not miss a moment, and how glad I am that I was able to be there for my mom and my aunt.


hanging on my aunt's fridge

I decided to make this pattern a free download in my craftsy shop.



If you'd like to make it too, you can!  If you've never used craftsy before, it's a wonderful resource - and it's free.  Your patterns that you download stay in your history forever, so you can download them again if you lose them.

I want to thank Amy for all her hard work in putting these Festivals together, and for giving us such a treat when most can't make it to the Festival in Houston!  Enjoy all the quilts - I know what I'll be doing this weekend!!!

My quilt is entered in the Original Design Quilts category.

Let The Auditions Begin....

So.  It's been 6 months since I've seen my stash.  And I'm working on two quilts.  It all had to come out today - boy did I find some treasures!  But do you know how hard it is to pull fabrics for two different quilts at the same time?  I kept getting my color schemes mixed up.  I do have a one-track mind, it derails constantly.

Guess what my youngest, Sam, got over the weekend?   His very first car, in his own name!!!



And it's just like mine, lol!!  But nicer - it has cloth seats, they're ever so much more comfortable than my leather ones.  No roof rack [not that I've ever used mine] and no push bar YET - it'll be here soon, ebay was most accommodating.



He's really happy, although he doesn't look it in the pic.  This car will get him through the winter just fine.  They had to go to Missouri to pick it up - 30 hours of no sleep, I remember those days!  Why we buy cars from other states is beyond me, you'd think the Motor City had none at all.  Our first Rav was from Ohio, John's first car was from New Jersey, his second from Chicago, the van from Illinois, and I don't remember the other 4.  Yes, we have 8 cars....in various states of repair.  I. don't. know. why.

Ok, back to putting the stash away - I have a huge pile of fabric to sort through tomorrow, when I can actually see the colors!  Wish me luck!

Fridge Art For Quilters - A How-To

When my boys were small, they were very artistic.  My refrigerator was covered with their artwork, along with those dumb magnetic letters and numbers you get at the dollar store - which fell off every time you tried to get some milk.  They're grown now, and the only thing up there is a grocery list,  a few magnetic business cards, and a pizza menu.  BO-O-O-O-RING!!!!!

Since I was at my aunt's overnight, I decided to use her fridge to show you how to spruce the place up for grown-ups!  It is so easy, with so few supplies, to let your light shine and show everyone what you can do with needle and thread.  Shall we start?  Here's what you need:

• a quilt that will fit on your fridge
• adhesive magnetic tape [available at Walmart]
• scissors

Yep, that's it.  Turn your quilt over thusly -



measure it against your quilt under the top binding -



cut  -



peel off the paper from the magnetic tape -



and press it firmly, adhesive side toward the quilt, right under the binding.



And just like that, you're ready to take your fridge from boring



to the envy of all the other appliances!!



Top or bottom, it doesn't matter!



But Allie, you say, I don't have a fridge like that - mine is a side by side.  NO PROBLEM.  Measure the space, and make a quilt to fit!  I happen to have a side by side myself, and I'm thinking of the small quilts I have that would fit perfectly.  A skinny table runner would be awesome.  It doesn't have to fit the whole space, just put up one [or two or three] and give your kitchen some color and life - a fridge that isn't embellished with quilts is just wasted real estate!

By the way, I made sure to bring this quilt home with me, much to my aunt's chagrin - she thought it looked wonderful there and wasn't going to remind me to take it.  Maybe I'll have to make her one!

My name is Snickers and I approved this post.

It's Here!

Day 1 of Jenny's gorgeous 5 day Holiday Hostess Table Topper -

This is going to be gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!

Live A Little Is Here!

Uploaded to my craftsy shop now - Live A Little, free pattern!



Oh I'm so happy to have this one done and dusted.  To think that I started it in April....and yet, you could probably make this in one day....sigh.  Still, it's done, it's cheering up my sewing room, and reminding me to have a little fun!  I hope you enjoy it, and if you make it, you know I would love to see a picture!

If you haven't joined up with craftsy yet, why not?  It's all free - and you have access to online classes, free and paid patterns, and your downloads stay in your history forever.  If you have a computer crash, you can just log into your account and download them again!  I love craftsy so much, can you tell?

I was browsing my photos on flickr the other night, and found something rather interesting - apparently flickr has transported me to the future!  One of my pictures had this date -



Really, flickr?  Made me laugh!  None of my other pics had the wrong date.

Things are progressing on our street, the guys were out working in the monsoon today, fortunately it's still warm!  Things are progressing with mum too, I talked to her this morning and she's doing SO well.  I'm thanking God today for the excellent medical team at Crittenton Hospital in Rochester!

Be well today, and enjoy your weekend - I'm off to work on the next pattern, which MIGHT become a BOM - we'll see!

A Finish, And A Conundrum

How in the world does all of this -



fit on this?



Well, at least it DID fit...until I took it off.  Couldn't get it all back on to save my life.  I might need to finish a few projects.  [Please disregard the dust - I haven't been home for six months!]

But hey, I did finish a project!!!!  One of the happiest quilts I've ever designed....it's a solid fave at my house.



I am so in love with this little quilt.




I adore outline quilting by hand - very relaxing!




I started this quilt back in April of this year.  It has changed a bit from the original design, and I couldn't love it more.  I can't believe it took me so long but I did have some distractions...and then, I had to hand quilt it because I was at my aunt's with no sewing machine!

If you love it too, it'll be a free download in my craftsy shop later this week, I'll let you know when.  I'm writing the pattern now.

I've had a lot of company while I've been working on it.  Apparently we're getting all new water mains and culverts on our street -



I don't think my neighbor is getting into his driveway tonight....



The mailman had to come back, and then hand me my mail.  I can just imagine what the street is going to look like with all the rain we've got coming!



Off to brew a fresh pot of coffee and do some writing!