Friendship Crossing

Twice in the same week!!

2012-03-08T17:02:00.011-05:00

Can you believe I'm posting for the second time this wk??? LOL I can't either! ha

I decided today that it was gonna be just a sewing/stitching day for me. No errands to run, no grocery shopping, no HOUSEWORK>ugh!! So I stayed true to course ALL day. I have to admit, it was the perfect day for it~sorta rainy and overcast, but it was fairly warm out too. The perfect day to stay inside. So I turned on the Christian radio station and listened/sang while I worked, but no, I didn't whistle. :))

I cross stitched for awhile on a Lizzie Kate design I started right after Christmas(which I'll show when I'm finished w/it), then I 'forced' myself to go into the C.R. and SEW!!! I had been putting it off for a few days now, and I needed to get-'her'-done!!

Ever have one of those patterns that just drives you buggy till you get it figured out?? Well, this one was rather confusing to me at first. I really believe that a couple of the pattern pieces were labeled wrong. So when I first tried the directions(which were a bit unclear to begin with), I got the wrong pieces sewn together. Now, you'd never know it if you didn't know what fabric went where, but I did and it really bugged me! So then I made a second one, changing the pattern pieces around and it still didn't quite come out the way it was supposed to, but was a bit better. Ok, ok, I admit, part of it was my brain!! I just wasn't figuring it out right the first time around. They say 3 times a charm, so maybe when I make the third one, I'll get it perfect, ha!!

Here' the two that I ended up making(for gifts) and hopefully the recipients won't even notice the mistakes.

I love this color scheme~brown and aqua. I never used to like brown, period, but lately it's really been growing on me. (see how close I got the magnetic snap to the upper flap)? By the way, I had never tried using a magnetic snap until today~easy peasy!Guess what? It even has 2 pockets inside!This is the second one~ I got a bit crooked on the curve of the flap~ WAHHHHHH!!!! (yes, I admit that I am a bit of a perfectionist).Again, 2 pockets on the inside!Here's some springy fat quarters that I've had on my sewing desk for awhile now, wondering what to make out of them. Even tho' I'm a prim gal at heart, I still love brighter colors for spring/summer.One more unfinished project that I need to finish in a big hurry for a b'day gift! I always have such good intentions and high expectations that I will get it done in time, but sometimes that is not always the case! (the fabric is Twirl, by Moda).

What all have you been working on?? I would love to know I'm not the only one out there who has crazy days in the C.R. (craft room). Tomorrow is back to cleaning and grocery shopping!

Happy Stitching and thanks for stopping by!

More Kits 4 Sale~1/2 price or more!!

2012-03-06T11:05:00.028-05:00

Happy Tues. everyone! I thought I'd give all my followers first dibs on more of my Pine Mountain pillow kits, before I list them in my Etsy shop in a few days. Speaking of Etsy, last wk. I added more items like pattern packs and cross stitch fabric, then went thru and lowered the prices on several items, so you just might want to take a peek.

Today I'm offering all these kits at half price or lower. All of these kits come w/a pre-made pillow, fabric, floss(she gives you plenty) and some kind of button or embellishment, plus the graph and a colored picture. They all come in their original package and from a smoke-free home. PRICE listed are ONLY for the kits themselves.

**If you already know my email addie, just use it for purchasing. If not, then just click on the 'email me' button at the top of my blog. I will add shipping and then send you an invoice w/PayPal, but I do need your zip code. Usually shipping is approx. between $1 to $2 for USPS first class(w/a tracking number), depending on which kits and how many you order. IF you'd rather have Priority, then just let me know and I will adjust the shipping costs. I will ship internationally, but the shipping rates will be a bit higher. I usually always ship right away, so you don't have to wait~ LOL

Any questions, just leave me a comment on this post OR email me.

This first kit is called Spring ABC's and if offered at $10.00. ~ SOLD~thank you!Long July ~Uncle Sam is offered at $9.00 and this one comes w/linen.January snowman is offered at $8.00~SOLD~thank you!!Snowflakes is a 4~patch pillow kit and offered at $10.00Stockings is $9.00~SOLD~thank you!Trick or Treat is a Tie One On kit offered at $10.00October Round is offered at $8.00 Witches Brew is $10.00
October Square ~ $8.00~SOLD~thank you!!To Have and To Hold ~ $8.00 ~ makes a nice wedding/shower gift.Long Sept. if offered at a really reduced price of only $7.00. Would make a cute teacher's gift.

Ok, that's it for today~Let the emails begin~ LOL!!!

Finally!!!

2012-02-27T12:17:00.010-05:00

Well, I'm finally back w/a couple of finishes and a BIG announcement that I'll tell you about near the end of this post. (yes, you can scroll down now if you can't stand the excitement, LOL)!

I've been on a bit of a 'spring' kick w/my stitching lately and wanted to share what I've been up to.
First up is 'Are You My Mother?' by Bent Creek. I used a totally different fabric and added a piece of wool to the bottom, as well as some faux flowers and a ribbon, which can be taken off if you don't like it. I just thot it needed something else added to make it feel a bit more 'springy'. ha

Here's another finished item I made recently. The pattern is by the wonderfully talented Brenda Gervais, of 'With Thy Needle and Thread'/Country Stitches designer. I love most everything she designs, but hate to admit that I've made very few of her things. Her patterns are in bigger print and much easier to read than some I've done.This one is called, 'Chocolate Bunnies' and I used some over dyed threads than what it called for. For the bunnies, I used 'Sable' from GAST, and for the fabric I used 16ct. White Birch Heatherfield, which gives it more of a 'prim' look and feel to it. They no longer make this color of Heatherfield fabric, but I've always adored the nubby texture and tiny flecks of color it has. It was really popular yrs. ago when I had my shop, but only comes in one color/size nowadays. However, I still have quite a bit left in my craft room of different sizes/colors, tee hee.I also added some faux flowers to this one too. The pattern actually called for it on this one. :))I am thinking of making it again on larger count fabric next time, so the 'egg' would be a lot bigger.

On to the big announcement: after MUCH praying, pondering and planning for way over a year, I finally decided to jump on board and open an Etsy shop!!! Yep, I actually opened it almost a month ago, but it sat empty until just this past wk end when I was finally able to list things for sale in it.
It's called My Lil' Craft Room!!! (wonder where I got that name)??? lol

The first five people that order something from the shop will receive a little extra handmade goodie as a thank you, but I'm not telling you what it is! It'll be a 'surprise'!!!

I will be selling handmade items, as well as lots of supplies for your favorite stitching past times. Cross stitch, primitive stitch, wool applique, craft items, overdyed floss, fabric(linens/wool, etc.), needles and patterns are just a few of the things I'll be offering.

**The older kits/patterns that have never been used or opened will be offered at a big discounted price. A few of them have already sold, so I am listing what's left and I'll be adding to it again soon.

***But here's the BIG kicker, I will try my best to discount even the newer items just a little off of regular retail prices to offset the shipping costs. If there's ever anything that you need/want me to order, just let me know and I'll see if I can get it for you, but please keep in mind that I'm just starting out, so I'll be adding lots more items as time/money allow. I'll update as I get them listed, so check back every now/then.

Have a great week everyone! I've got lots of linen to cut and get listed, so I need to get off of here.As always,thanks so much for stopping by.

P.S.~ I've turned off my word verification thingy recently as it was very difficult to see and I want to make it easy for you to leave comments, however, I still have blogger approval turned on as I have been hit w/some security problems recently. If you ever get an email from me that has a strange link to it or just seems odd to you, DO NOT open it!! Please contact me and let me know, as some of you have done recently~thank you so much!!

Tanya

25 yrs. ago today!

2012-02-14T16:24:00.000-05:00

I would love to tell you that I'm writing this aboard a huge cruise ship heading towards the Bahamas. Can you see the white sandy beach up ahead, turquoise waters and smell the salty air?? Or perhaps snuggled in a log cabin in the mountains, warming up by the fire after a day of skiing, or maybe even flying overseas for the first time, anxiously awaiting the tour of a lifetime. But NOPE, none of these places are where I'm writing from. I'm just at home, like most days, only this one I awoke to an awful noise of dear hubby throwing up in the bathroom that gave me the heebie jeebies! On our 25th wedding anniversary to beat all!!! (How dare he get sick today of all days)!! LOL

Actually, we had made reservations a few wks. ago to take a little trip to Gatlinburg, Tn. for a few days. But last wk. we realized things weren't working out for us to go, so we cancelled, but weren't really sure of the reason. Now we know~I'm so glad we were at home when he got sick instead of stuck in some motel several hrs. from home. The Lord knew ahead of time and I'm so thankful we listened to that 'still small voice'. The voice that tells you things you sometimes don't want to hear, but it's always for your benefit.

I thank the Lord all the time for giving me such a wonderful man all these yrs. He's never gotten mad at me or the kids, he's always loved us w/the kind of love that only God can give. The kind that Christ loved his bride with, the church. So I just want to mention, that even tho' we didn't get to celebrate in the way I had pictured for a long, long time, I'm just so thankful and glad that we have such a wonderful relationship (with the Lord at the head of it) and that we're together today, despite the sick germs.

On the flip side~I've gotten to spend most the day stitching(in between playing nursemaid), which has been really therapeutic for me, and didn't have to do any chores or even fix dinner~ I gave myself the day off. LOL

I hope whether you are single, married or dating, that each of you experiences what TRUE love is all about~the LOVE that God has for each one of us and gave up His Son for us so that we can have a real, true relationship w/Him.

My honey ordered this beautiful cake the other day, good thing or he wouldn't have gotten to eat any of it today.
I ordered this heart spring from a dear friend~ Sheila and as always, she added a few things to the box.Thanks again Sheila, I treasure it all, but esp. our 'online' friendship!

This is a little stitchery that I added bits of wool to and turned into a flange pillow.And a little snowman purse that I forgot to show awhile back, using a freebie pattern. The handles actually make 6 pockets on it. I still need to add the magnetic snap.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Are You Ready for a Craft Sale???

2012-02-07T14:34:00.029-05:00

Today's sale is for various cross stitch kits from designers~Hob Nobb Designs, Lizzie*Kate, and Bent Creek. These are older kits, but have NEVER been used, like brand new, only older and w/a big discount! All these kits are in their original packaging. Here's how it will work:

I prefer to accept payments through PayPal, which you can use even if you don't have a PayPal acct. These prices you see here will NOT reflect shipping costs. That will be added later, after I receive notice, along with your address, so I will know how much to add for actual shipping. It will be first come, first served. You will need to send me an email stating which kit/kits that you want to purchase. Please don't forget to add your address in the email. I will accept international addresses as well. I will mark it sale pending until I receive payment.

First up is a Hob-Nobb Design kit w/a large handmade Angel button(over 2 inches long), graph and also the fabric. Comes in a nice compact plastic box. $9.00 each OR all 3 kits below for $25.0016 ct. Hickory Heatherfield fabric included....A second Hob-Nobb Des. kit~'School Days'~comes with a darling handmade 'raincoat' button, graph and also the fabric. $9.00 each or all 3 kits for $25.00. This would make a darling teacher's gift!16ct. White Birch Heatherfield fabric included...(I still have some of this fabric left if anyone wants me to cut them a piece, just let me know what size and I'll quote you a price).Third kit by Hob-Nobb Des. is 'BOO', a cute ghost button and 3 candy corn buttons, graph, and also the fabric is included for $9.oo each OR all 3 kits for $25.0016ct. Hickory Heatherfield fabric is included...Next up is a Bent Creek Zipper kit~'Jack'. Included in the zipper bag is the graph, linen fabric, threads, embellishments and needle, plus you can re-use the 6 by 9 in. zipper bag for many things~all for only $12.50. I use all my zipper bags for carrying current small projects in.Lizzie*Kate kit~'Long May She Wave' comes in a cute little plastic re-usable 'purse'. Graph, fabric (hand-dyed relic linen), star embellishment, needle and exclusive chart for $8.00. (original price was $18.00).L*K kit~'Vinnie Von Fang' ~ is a special edition kit, complete w/hand-dyed 'Transylvania Green' linen, Mill Hill ceramic pumpkin button, silver bow, 2 yellow star buttons, sparkly crystal cufflinks, glittery silver fiber, crazy eyes, black seed beeds, needle and graph~ all for only $12.50 OR both kits(Betty Broomstick) for $24.00. (Each kit was originally $28.00 each). ***Both Vinnie and Betty have been sold~thanks Jo!L*K kit~'Betty Broomstick'~comes with exclusive hand-dyed 'Halloween' linen, pumpkin glass necklace, sliver bow, fuzzy black hair fiber, 2 yellow star buttons, sparkly crystal earrings, glittery fuchsia shoe fiber, black seed beads, bristly broom, needle and graph all for $12.50 each OR both Vinnie and Betty for $24.00. Edited~both Vinnie and Betty have been sold! Thanks! Bent Creek kits~2 Cracker kits available. 'Halloween' Holiday Crackers kit includes: 32 ct. linen, floss, embellishments, graph and needle. Asking $10.00 each OR $18.00 for both kits.Bent Creek 'Christmas' Holiday Crackers kit includes: 32 ct. linen, floss, embellishments, graph and needle all for $10.00 OR both Cracker kits for $18.00.

That's it for today, but I still have lots more kits/patterns(not all are cross stitch related), etc. to sell in the near future. Any questions~just email if you already have my email addie OR click on the 'contact me' button which is located on the upper right sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Shopping!!! LOL

Let's Get This Tour Over ~ Craft Room Part Three

2012-02-02T11:07:00.021-05:00

Did anyone remember that we needed to finish this tour so we can move on?LOL

This part of the 'tour' focuses mostly on the other side of the room, where I store my fabric and wool. Mr. Fix-It hung shelves for all my $$$ store baskets. Each basket holds a certain color scheme, type of fabric, or seasonal fabrics.

Here's where we left off last time. Remember I mentioned that I had another window in the room? It faces the front of the house. As you can see, there isn't much room between the sewing area and the cutting area. (yes, I am having a hard time trying to find matching material to make window valances). I really have tried, honest! :))

Oops, the room looks almost blue in this pic. Must have been the bright sunlight shining through the other window, that we haven't had the pleasure of receiving the last few days. I really needed to stain the tabletop or cover it w/formica, but just left it plain for now, however it does get stains on it from time to time. It measure 3ft. wide by 6 ft. long. The light fixture has 'Daylight' bulbs in it for truer color.More fabric underneath. These 2 bins are actually holding up the tabletop. (there are two more bins underneath in the back that are empty). They are a bit higher than regular table height, making it easier for me to use my rotary cutter w/out having to bend over as much.I had my dear hubby nail 2 yard sticks end to end to the outside so I can easily measure my fabric.Some cute little baskets I found to store some of my newer patterns I have obtained over the past yr. or so.I can't remember where I bought the giant paper clip, but I use it to hold patterns that I'm working on. The black basket in the back holds most of my interfacing.This sewing chest was given to me by my MIL. It is sort of 3D looking and very heavy. It has compartments inside, to hide things from myself, ha!For some reason this lampshade always sits crooked! LOL I never can get it to stay on straight.It sits at the very end of the tabletop and fabric baskets. Guess what this bin holds???Yep, all of my WOOL!!! Of course, they had to be color-coordinated too! Each basket is plum full, so not sure where I'll end up storing the new stuff. I'm running out of room!!!! I know, it's such a dilemma!! :))

Hands to work, hearts to God, which is hard to see, but that's what it says.There was just enough room to hang it next to the fabric baskets. Here's how it looks all together...Of course, I forgot to show how I reach up that high....my step stool fits perfectly in the small leftover space. Usually it is piled w/magazines and things I've made..LOLJust to make sure that you don't think the room looks this nice and neat ALL the time, here is what it usually looks like...........

That's it folks............hope you enjoyed the 'tour' of my humble little craft room.

*** Keep saving up those pennies cuz I'm STILL working on a BIG craft sale, (w/special discounts for all my bloggy buddies) coming soon to a blog near you!!! LOL

Enjoy the day whatever the weather! As always, thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments! I truly do appreciate them!!

Happy Stitching,

Craft Room pics ~ Part Two

2012-01-25T15:19:00.013-05:00

Some of you might remember this plaque that used to hang out in my craft 'barn', but now it's inside, warm and toasty, along w/all my other crafty stuff. This hangs in between the closet and the hanging thread pegboard.Let's continue around the room, shall we??The cheapy light fixture I bought at WW(Wally World), but that second light really comes in handy when I'm ironing. I can twist it any which way I need to.These 3 black shelves hang in the corner, over on the opposite side of the room. The two top shelves hold some of my favorite pieces that I've either made, collected, or sweet blogger friends have sent me. The bottom shelf holds baskets for trim, round pearl cotton, rick rack, extra bobbins and machine needles, etc.Down below is my collection of older thread and in the clear plastic basket w/handle, holds all of my newer thread.Yes, I know I need to make some valances for the windows. (there is another one I haven't shown yet).This counter has a drawer base on either side(that holds more STUFF)~lol, and butts up against the drop~leaf table that holds my ironing pad, etc. The counter is about 7 or 8 ft. long. I think hubby had to cut a little off of the right side to fit in the space out in the barn, but it worked just fine inside. I really tried hard to make use of everything I had out there that would fit in the new room.Underneath the old black drop~leaf sits my little stereo unit. (Hey, a gal's gotta have some music while she works), lol. The 3~drawer plastic bin holds more cross stitch charts and kits.

I guess this means there will be a third post~ LOL! I will show you the other half of the room next time. (it contains all my FABRIC and WOOL)~tee hee Also, I can't wait to show you a couple of things I've made recently.

Keep saving up those pennies, as I'm gearing up for a big SALE soon, don't forget!!

As always, I appreciate your stopping by for a visit and hope you enjoyed your stay!
Happy Crafting!

Craft Room pics ~Part One

2012-01-18T13:58:00.016-05:00

Ok, I finally got my C.R. (craft room) all cleaned up a couple of wks. ago so I could start the new yr. off in my craft room w/a clean table, so I thot I'd show ya what the room looks like. Most of the time it is way more messy than this and over the holidays it became our 'throw it in there' room, LOL. I'm gonna break it up into 2 or 3 posts so as not to 'overload' blogger again.

As some of you might remember, this room used to be our oldest son's b'room, but last spring it became my new c.r. and let me tell you, it is a very small room. However, I feel I'm much more productive(well, if I could stay off of the computer), in this room than I was out in my craft barn(due to no potty out there and all), which had a LOT more space. It's way more compact, but very conducive to sewing/crafting, at least most of the time. :))

As you walk in the door, this peg board holding most, but not all of my overdyed floss, is on the opposite wall.
Yes, I once owned a cross stitch shop several yrs. ago.........can you tell???
Even more thread hangs on the back of the door.....I wanted the closet to be 'open' so I could find things easily. Next to the closet on the left, sits my bins full of cross stitch material in all different sizes, colors and counts. I bought the 9 cubby bins at Target a few yrs. ago. The black baskets I found at the $$ store for a dollar each. I have several more bins that hold all my sewing fabric and wool, that you will see later on.

I try to tag or label everything so it saves me time when I'm looking for something in particular. I just pull out a basket or sometimes two or three at a time, lol.

That's it for today, but plenty more to share in the next post. Plus, I will be having a BIG sale soon for my older craft patterns/kits, so start saving up your pennies!!

Have a lovely day/night! Happy crafting!

Organizing Still Coming Along....

2012-01-11T16:56:00.010-05:00

I must confess I haven't been quite as productive this wk. as last wk. in the C.R.(craft room), but this 'organizing' bug has really taken hold. The meal planning I mentioned in my last post got quite a few positive comments, so I just wanted you to know that I have stuck to it like glue. It seems to be working out great! I now go grocery shopping on Mondays and only try to buy ingredients for meals chosen for that wk. (ok, well, I overshot my budget this wk., but other than that.....)LOL. Still need to work on that one!!

Also, I'm trying to incorporate NEW recipes each wk. It's another 'addiction' I have besides all the stitchy/sewing ones. LOL There are only about a thousand I want to try, so I bought myself a cute little folder (w/Beagle puppies on it) to store the freebie ones I run off of the internet. I also bought a BIG cheapie noteook, along w/some dividers, to hold them in after we see if we like that particular recipe. I do have a recipe box and an old smaller notebook that holds all of my recipes I've had for yrs, but this is just for the new ones. Before, I just stuffed the internet ones in folders and had to dig through each one looking for something new to try OR spent lots of time rummaging through all my bazillion cookbooks, so hopefully this will save me time in the long run.

When planning our meals for this wk. I grabbed one of my cookbooks(a Gooseberry Patch, for instance), got out a little notepad, wrote down the pg. number and beside it, the name of the recipe I'd like to try. Any ingredients I didn't have was written down on a separate grocery list. Then I went through my coupons to match up ingredients that needed to be bought. Waa-la!! it's been a hit so far!!

So as not to bore you w/all that~here's a few things I made last wk. Can't believe no one even tried to guess what they were. I even gave you all a HINT!!

This is called a 10-min. tablerunner, from that kit I won. Actually, I think they should name it 30-min. tablerunner, cuz it took me a bit longer than 10 MINS!!! :))) but I think the colors are gorgeous!

Very easy to make, but not sure how anyone could make it in 10 mins. LOL It took me awhile to get those seams just right.I had received one of these tissue covers in a RAK(you can read about on my last post) and had always wanted to make some myself. Talk about FAST and EASY!! I started out w/making two of them, then they multiplied.......and I ended up w/5, but gave a few away, so now back to two again. ha

I'm sure I'll be making plenty more of them in the future. I need to make one for myself too!

Well, thanks for stopping by~ I need to go start that new recipe for tonite's dinner(Enchilada Casserole and Taco Soup), so hope to see ya back on here again soon!

Oops I forgot!!

2012-01-05T14:24:00.019-05:00

I hope every one's New Year is off to a good start!! Mine is so far. I've been getting each room in our house back in order and ORGANIZED is my word for this yr. I want to be more organized w/my time, so making my house more organized and de-cluttered will make my time more organized and less wasted, hopefully. Actually I want to be more organized in all areas of my life this yr.

So, for instance, I have begun a weekly meal plan. I have tried this many times before in the past, but this yr. I'm hoping I can stick to it each wk. Only going to the grocery store once a wk., knowing what meals will be fixed for that wk. and buying only those items that I need for those meals. No more running to the store every time I don't have an ingredient or whatever.

No more wondering what to fix for dinner each night. I just look at my list that is hung on the refrigerator door every morning and plan for it early in the day. It has made my evenings go so much smoother.

That is just one area in my life, but there are many more areas I want to instill. I have always actually LOVED being organized, but for some reason last yr. was anything but that, esp. over the holidays recently. So hopefully I'm back on track to stay! We'll see how it progresses and throughout the course of the yr. I will be sharing other areas of my life as well.

Now on to the title of this post~ on my last post a few days ago, I forgot to show you what I was RAK'd with from Stitchin Sweet Sue recently. She sent me a cute little package containing a small piece of cr. st. fabric that I had mentioned I wanted to try and some homespun fabric, but included some goodies along w/it, plus a sweet little card. Want to know what was in the sweetly wrapped tissue paper? Scroll down to the next pic. :))This cute little tissue cover she made.....thanks again Sue~how thoughtful of you!

The other things I forgot to show was what I sent to Wendy for our gingerbread swap. Last post I showed you what all she sent me, but this is what I sent to her. I forgot to take a group pic of all the items together, so I'll show ya individually.

A stitchery panel...

A wool gingerbread towel....A little wooly pillow....A gingerbread man......I tried to make an ornament look like the ones Valerie made, but used a different ginger pattern.

And this sweet resin angel, because two of her children have 'Angelman Syndrome'.

I'd love to hear what your 'word' is for this yr. or if you have any goals/resolutions that you want to try, so just mention it in your comment.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I finally got my sewing mo~jo back yesterday and made several things, but if you want to know what they are, you're just gonna have to stop by next time. (Hint~some of them are pictured on this post). Can you guess what they are??? I know, I'm such a tease, LOL.

See ya next time and happy stitching!
Tanya

What a 'Winful' Year!!

2011-12-31T17:45:00.028-05:00

Only a few more hrs. to go here in the States. As of today, I've finally got my house back in order after a week -long endeavor to take all my gingers and Christmas items down and replace them w/snowmen, which I'll share on my next post.

But before I show you all my tweaking, I wanted to show several things that I've either won, swapped or been RAK'd with, which I mentioned on my last post. By the way, I also want to say a big THANK YOU to all who left me sweet comments about my gingers! Yes, I do have a LOT, and it does take me awhile to get them all out and then put away again, LOL.

First up is this gorgeous hooked rug I won from Katie, over at Primitive Woolens. This has been awhile back, but I didn't want to forget to show it. I absolutely love it!! The colors are beautiful and it fits right in w/my decor. A great big thank you once again!! sorry it took me so long to show it.

She also made and sent along a couple of cuties as extras, a little wool bird and a sweet rose pin.Earlier in the fall I also won a great big door prize at a quilt shop.....A 10~minute table runner kit....3 fat quarters of MY choice......One small and one large pattern of MY choice.....A $25 gift certificate, which I purchased these patterns with and had a little $$ left over..., so I got some flannel fabric w/it. Also a little key chain that turns into a tape measure.Another goodie from a prim gift shop that's only a few doors down from the quilt shop.....the shop owner had a few of these cute mice left over from her open house, so she gave me a set and you should have seen how pretty it was gift wrapped.....Valerie, from the Wooden Acorn sent me this darling resin ginger 'man' to go w/the 'momma' and ''child' ginger I bought from her earlier in the fall. Thank you again Valerie, it was so sweet of you! She knew I needed to complete the ginger family~ LOL!!Christine, from Preferably Prim also sent me a wonderful surprise........ a sweet snowman card, a pretty sheep scene on a magnet....She made me a prim burlap tree...Stitched me a darling gingerbread pillow.......and colored him in perfectly!! Thank you again Christine, I was totally surprised when I saw your package from the UK. Love it all, but esp. the gingerbread boy!! :))Last, but not least, was my gingerbread swap w/Wendy, from The Quiet Room. She ended up sending me not one, but TWO boxes full of prim goodies!! Heart shaped ornaments, a box of the most delish chocolates, and several hand~made items.....

Thanks again Wendy~ I love everything you sent me and I'll try not to send you a bill when I have to buy bigger clothes from eating all that chocolate!! LOL

One last gingerbread pic.........this was my centerpiece on the island this yr.......now they are all packed away for another yr.
Well, I hope you've had a chance to think back over the highlights and hopefully not many 'lowlights' of 2011. One of my main goals for this yr. is I hope to be a bit more organized w/mostly my time. Even tho' I did get quite a few things made this yr, I felt like there were several things I started that I never finished or I had good intentions of making, but then never got around to it, so I'm going to try to be more disciplined w/my time, among other things(and believe me there are plenty) ha . Any goals or resolutions you have for the New Yr??

I hope that all of you have a healthy, happy, prosperous NEW YEAR full of God's greatest blessings in 2012!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!! Here's to more stitching, sewing, quilting, crafting or whatever makes you happiest! See ya next yr! and don't forget to plan a new adventure!!

"Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours." Beethoven

More Gingerbread?? Part 4

2011-12-27T13:35:00.001-05:00

Here's my newest addition to my ginger collection~my honey got for me at Cracker Barrel restaurant. I love their food, but even more their gift shop! It's a cookie jar which didn't get used this time around, but hopefully next yr! :))

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas w/their family and friends! We celebrated ours on Fri. and boy did my house look like a tornado hit w/paper & glitter flying all over the family room. I don't know why I bother to clean BEFORE hand, I should just wait till afterwards, lol. There were 13 of us and we had a wonderful day together. The ginger on the right has a pot scrubber in the back of it. Got it at HL on sale for half price! :))This is my new philosophy...hee hee.My Boyd's gingerbear sat under the 4ft. gingerbread tree.I had this tree in the living room last yr. for those who remember, but this yr. I put it in the laundry room on top of the pie safe.This was in the kitchen last yr. next to the island, but got moved into the laundry room as well.Can't remember how many yrs. I've had this little gal.Love those Gooseberry Patch calendars ~ I use my 40% off coupon at HL every fall when they first come out.Another new addition to the ginger collection this yr. is this towel that I finally found time to stitch. I even went to the library one day and worked on it! It's a small section of a Plum Pudding Needleart pattern. I still have a few of these towels left in different colors if anyone is interested.

Bought this one at Hobby Lobby last yr. I never did try this particular recipe, but I did manage to bake some gingerbread cookies this yr. for the first time, but ran out of time to decorate them, ha.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little tours, LOL. Next time I hope to show you some of my winful items that I've either won, swapped or been RAK'd with, and yes~ some are GINGERS!!! LOL

"If life were predictable, it would cease to be life and would be w/out flavor." ~Eleanor Roosevelt.

Happy Stitching until next time!

More Gingers ~ Part Three

2011-12-20T14:00:00.012-05:00

Ok you guys, I think I have ginger~itus!! I'm thinkin' I have a strong addiction going on! LOL

But until I find a 'cure', I'll show ya a few more ginger items in my third cabinet along my kitchen wall.

I made a new wreath this yr. to go along w/the ginger theme. I found this cute ribbon at a craft store awhile back w/gingers on it and I knew I had to make it into a bow. (It just jumped into my cart)~ LOL I kept the wreath pretty simple this yr. cuz it's all I had to work with and my time was running out, but next yr. I might add some more berries or something to jazz it up a bit. (those of you who make beautiful wreaths, just turn your heads) tee hee. It's looking a bit too plain in the pics.

I wanted you to see the sparkles on it....Here's another new item, but I forgot to show it lit up. This cute guy is made out of wood and has a light inside.....Not exactly ginger~related, but I thought it was too cute to pass up........it's also real sparkly too.This little guy was the one I bought off of Valerie awhile back when I visited her shop. I stuck him in this old grater.......Hanging inside one cabinet door.........and a wool stocking I made a few yrs. ago, hanging on the other door.......

I still have some more to share, so will be back hopefully before Christmas Day. If not, I will continue my ginger posts next week and some random Christmas decor around the house.

IF I don't make it back on here before then, I hope everyone has the most wonderful Christmas ever!! We will be celebrating our big day w/the grandkids this Fri. for the very first time and we can't wait!! For now tho' I still have lots to do to get ready for it.

Until then, MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!! Don't forget to read Luke chapter 2, which tells us all about the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

More Gingers?? Part Two

2011-12-16T14:48:00.007-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm finally back and it's been a wild week of last minute Christmas shopping and running errands. I've been gone all day, everyday this wk. and today I just needed to stay home and get some things done.
Hopefully this blog post won't get all messed up like last time. Planned on showing a lot more pics per post, but decided not to take a chance, so just gonna show you a few at a time.

This cabinet stands to the right of the big hutch I showed last time. I know many of you will recognize several gingerbread from last yr., but I did try to mix it up and also added a few new pieces to my collection. Can anyone have TOO many gingerbreads??? I don't think so! LOL
I bought these 3 blocks several wks. ago off of Grandma Kringle who has an Etsy shop. I just fell in love w/them.

Sorry this one turned out so dark. I didn't realize it till after I had already uploaded it. The round box was also a special order. I loved the handpainting on it! I wish now I had taken a close up of it.

That's all for part two, but I still have plenty more to share, so I'll be back in a few days to continue the tour. Hope to see you back then! I sure am enjoying all the Christmas music and movies this time of year! Let me know what your favorites are.

Are you feeling the pressure yet?? Don't worry~ you still have over a week yet before the BIG day! Until then~ "The greatest sweetener of human life is friendship." I certainly hope each of you connects w/the sweetest of friends in the universe this season~Jesus~ the ONE and ONLY reason for our Christmas Season!!

IT WORKS!!!

2011-12-14T19:52:00.001-05:00

Thanks to following the advice given by Danice of Homespun Hannah's blog, it worked beautifully. She dedicated a whole post about it on her blog for those of you who are interested. Very informative if you're like me and don't know a whole lot about HTML codes, etc. Please go on over for a visit.

Danice, you're a blogsaver!! LOL Thanks again so much!!

**Tanya**

HELP!!!!!!!

2011-12-14T12:08:00.001-05:00

Does anyone know how to fix my sidebar??? When I published a new post the other day, it disappeared and went all the way to the bottom of the page!! I tried and tried to fix it, but couldn't get anything to work. I'm not very computer techy, so anyone who has any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks so much in advance!

Tanya

More Gingers??? Part One

2011-12-12T11:51:00.011-05:00

Just a few pics to peak your interest....LOL. Sure hope I'm not boring anyone w/MORE pics of my gingers!! A lot of these you'll remember from last yr. but this yr. I moved them around a bit and filled up not one, not two, but THREE cabinets/hutches!!! I tweaked and tweaked till I was finally satisfied....This is the biggest hutch in the middle of the three, along one wall in my kitchen. Mr. Fix-it made it for me yrs. ago as a surprise.I tried to keep most of the ceramic pieces together...These I bought last yr. at Home Goods as some of you may remember.

Sorry about the quality of some of these pics. The flash was either too bright or not enough...

That's all for today, but believe me~ I have TONS more! Ha ha ha.

I feel like I am so behind this yr. It has been non~stop since Thanksgiving weekend, but I still feel like there is so much to do and I feel awful about not getting some things made that I had such good intentions of doing! Wahhhhhhhhh!!! Oh well, I always seem to put myself under too much pressure anyway trying to get everything done before the BIG day!!

This is our very first Christmas w/our grandkids(who are 11 and 9)long story, but I confess~ I DIDN'T keep it simple!! I wanted to go all out, mostly for them.
Soooooooooo, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! LOL

I'll be back in a few days to share part two, so don't forget to stop back! Hope everyone is enjoying this time of yr! I certainly am enjoying seeing so many of your homes decorated in holiday decor~ such fun!! I just wish I had more time to visit everyone, but I do try to make my rounds as much as possible.

See ya soon!

**Tanya**
"God has given us these times of joy." Psalm 81:4

The 3 Winners are...........

2011-11-30T20:05:00.006-05:00

Are you ready to find out who all won my giveaway??? Well, we had 123 entries for group A~the gingerbread lovers group! Lynn from 'Life on the Wienee Ranch' won!! She has several adorable wiener doggies, thus the name of her blog. Congrats Lynn!!Group B had the least amount w/only 27 entries. Felicia from 'Raggedy Creations' won this group. Congrats to Felicia!! She's already claimed her gifts.Group C had 42 entries. Patty C won from 'Hanging on by a Thread' blog. Congrats to Patty!! She has already claimed her gifts too.

Well, I hope everybody enjoyed jumping on board and playing along. I was pleased w/the number of NEW followers ~57, WELCOME!!!, as well as 192 total entries! Thanks again everybody!

P.S. I still need to hear back from Lynn, otherwise I will have to pull another name.(Actually my oldest son did all the name pulling).

Happy Stitching!
**Tanya**

GIVE~AWAY has been EXTENDED!!!!

2011-11-21T00:25:00.004-05:00

As some of you found out over the wkend, Google decided to do a magic trick w/my blog by making it DISAPPEAR completely!!! I clicked the refresh button a few nights ago and it said that my blog had been disabled, but gave NO reason as to why. I clicked on several buttons, trying my best to get it to come back on, but to no avail. Several of you contacted me to let me know you couldn't get on my blog either. After trying several things to make it work again and hopefully reappear, I found a 'help' button that had me fill out a short questionnaire, then a few hrs. later they emailed me, apologized, and told me it had been fixed. PHEW!! Boy, was I sweatin' it!!!

In the meantime, several of you sweet, caring blogger buddies had emailed me asking me what happened to my blog, etc. I emailed several back letting you know that I was fine, but my blog wasn't. LOL

But I'm afraid that I may have lost a few more bloggers who clicked on to join in my recent give~away and couldn't find my blog, so with that said, I am going to extend it a few more days, to give everyone a bit more time. I will draw 3 names, one from each group ~A,B, or C. then I will give the winners a couple of days to get back w/me so I can mail them out shortly thereafter. (Boy I can't believe how many gingerbread lovers there are)!!!

THE NEW DATE will be NOV. 30th at NOON~EST. You can find all the info on the post below.

(I only need 4 more NEW followers to make it to 200) so please let the word out if ya don't mind!

Thanks everyone and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday here in the states! I can't tell you how glad I am to be back on here again!!

**Tanya**

YOUR CHOICE Give~Away!!

2011-11-15T15:00:00.000-05:00

Are you ready to have some fun?? I thought I'd do something a bit different this time in honor of all my wonderful followers and my 2 yr. blogaversary! So here goes~READ carefully so as not to confuse any of you or myself~HA!! (it doesn't take much to confuse me, so I hope this makes sense)! I tried really hard to pick/make items for everyone's taste.

I'm going to give you all a choice as to which group of items you'd like to win!! There are 3 groups from which to choose, Group A ~ is mostly for gingerbread lovers. Group B is mostly for sewers/quilters. Group C is mostly for cross stitch lovers. There will be 3 winners chosen, one from each group!

In your comment, you will need to include several things, but all in the SAME comment. I do not want you to have to fill out several comments, so just make notes if you have to, LOL.

First of all this is open to the U.S, Canada and the UK. ONLY my followers can enter!! NEW followers are more than WELCOME to join in!! The more the merrier!! Just let me know if you're new, so I can welcome you!
You do NOT have to have a blog of your own, but make sure I have a way of contacting you.
Second, you will get UP to 7 entries per person. (I will explain this in a minute).
Third, you will need to include which group you prefer to win. Group A, B or C.

Here's how it works:
ONE entry for being a follower.
ONE MORE entry for making a separate post about it on your blog, linking back to me.
TWO more entries for posting on your sidebar about it~ (so it will stay up the duration Nov. 15th ~ Nov. 25th).
THREE more entries if I'm listed on your sidebar of favorite blogs to visit.
Group A ~ has all gingerbread themed items~ a handmade wooly homespun towel, handmade wool ornament(made by Valerie), a gingerbread saltdough boy and a great smelling fragrant sashet.
Group B ~ includes over a yard and a fourth of the blue holiday fabric by Debbie Mumm, a fat quarter of Deb Strain's new fabric line~(Making Friends) and a fat eighth of the green trees in the same fabric line, plus 3 sewing/quilting patterns~ A turtle pincushion, a darling patchwork bag and a quilted tablerunner, plus a needlecard that has 21 assorted needles and a threader in it, and a seam ripper.

Group C~ includes a Pine Mt. pillow kit(already stitched for you, w/a darling handmade clay mitten button), a holiday project bag (that I made up myself from 2 different patterns), a Heart in Hand snowman graph(Whee Willie) and an angel Mill Hill beaded kit.

Here's a few close-up pics of some of the various items I've included in the 3 groups.
That's it~PHEW! I hope you lasted this long~LOL. Good luck everyone and I'll draw 3 names late next Fri. nite on the 25th. I'll give the winners a couple of days to get back w/me, then mail the packages out early the following wk. so you'll have them in plenty of time to enjoy for the holidays!

***Tanya***~email me if you're still confused or have any questions.

Give~Away Preview

2011-11-07T14:50:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to get ya'll excited about my upcoming give~away I'm having real soon! I'm going on my 2nd blogaversary next wk. and thot I'd make a few things. (Sorry for the blurry pics~ya'll should be used to it by now)LOL. Here's a sneak peek, but I'll be adding more things over the next few days........

This is just a quickie post, nothing really exciting going on here except we for our grandson's b'day party was Sat. and we all had a great time w/him. Both sides of the family were there at Gattiland~it's a big pizza buffet place and then the kids get to play all kinds of games, almost like an indoor amusement park, sort of. Ethan will turn 11 tomorrow.

It is a gorgeous day out today around 70* or so and sunny skies and we're to have another wk. of Indian Summer~YAY! I don't want it to turn cold out yet for awhile, I'm just not ready. Can't believe the holidays are upon us already! Does everyone have their Christmas shopping done yet?? LOL

Check back soon for all the details of the give~away!
I hope you'll be as excited as I am!

Happy Stitches,
Tanya

"Regardless of the direction I'm looking, I'm so glad my family and friends are part of the scenery."

Wooly Stalker!

2011-11-01T12:35:00.000-04:00

Remember when I posted recently about the sheep I won from The Wooden Acorn? Well, I was lucky enough to meet Valerie(blogger/shopowner) in person this past wkend!! As soon as I walked thru the door to her shop (a.k.a. ~prim wooly heaven), she and I hit it off instantly! We hugged, laughed, talked constantly and felt like we'd known each other for yrs. and yrs. And yes, Valerie hand-made her own sign! Isn't it gorgeous? She is just the sweetest person you'd ever want to meet and her shop is as sweet as she is!!I did manage to shop in between all the chatter between us and found some great buys! She has some great prices on her wool, too hard to pass up! I had so much fun w/her and her little shop that I went back the next day and surprised her! I just couldn't go home w/out some more WOOL, now could I???These pieces were great big~

These pieces were much smaller and stacked so cleverly in a cute little pile w/raffia and a cute 'acorn' tag wrapped around them, but I tore into it before I remembered to take a pic of it....

Valerie does the most amazing handwork and made several of her shop models, which I believe were also for sale.She hangs sweet little handmade seasonal ornies on her cute black spindle rack.

Just look at the details she puts into these ornies...Of course she had GINGERBREAD for sale!! Who could pass up those darling little men ??? LOLSee the rack that looks a bit 'bare'? That's because the wooly pieces had to go in my stash of course!!!Look at the clever way Valerie displays her patterns....

She told me she got these 2 ironing boards for a steal! She had darling gift items for sale as well....and look/drool over those colorful stacks of wool!!Thanks again Valerie for putting up w/me twice, I had a blast and hope I can visit again soon!We are planning to go to the International Quilt Show together in Cinn. next spring, but I hope I can see her again before that.

I accidently 'found' another much bigger, (but less personal) prim shop in a nearby mall, of all places! I could actually 'smell' the store before I even saw it. You prim lovers know what I mean...most prim stores have that candle 'smell' in them, that you can smell before you even step inside. Well, I only bought a couple of things in there that were half price for Thanksgiving, which I'll show later this month, now that it's NOV! But I did drool a bit over their displays!Last nite for Halloween, my youngest son~Steven, who will soon be 18, wanted to be a kid again just for one last time. He dressed up as an old man and his best friend, Shane dressed up in scrubs/and used a real wheelchair and they went 'trick or treating' one last time..... (don't be scared now)....We got the biggest kick out of those two as they raced up/down our street, laughing constantly! It was so funny to see in person! Shane was trying to do 'wheelies' w/the wheelchair. I was secretly praying that he wouldn't flip Steven overboard. LOLWell, now it's time to focus on Thanksgiving and Christmas......so back to reality!! I'm still working on some things for my upcoming give~away, so hopefully I'll get done in time! have a great week everyone!

**Tanya**

"Surround yourself w/people who make you happy".

I'm early for once

2011-10-26T00:28:00.013-04:00

Doesn't it feel great to get something done way ahead of time?? I finally stitched something up a few wks. ago and forgot to post it. I was actually early for once and it feels good for a change!! I am rarely early w/stitching anything for some strange reason, unless I'm on a deadline for someone's b'day or something like that. I always start early, but never seem to finish on time. I get too distracted w/so many other things I want to work on. Anyone else have that problem? Wonder what 'disorder' that is called???

This is taken from a JBW Design and stitched on a huck towel. I have several of these towels in white and cream that I plan on making up for gifts. All you need to figure is the stitch count to make sure it fits in the rectangle space on the towel. I've also used L*K snippets before too and they work as well.

This was taken w/out the flash so you could see the color better. I used CC ~ Colonial Copper and that was it. LOVE the varigation on this one!Can you find the little motifs inside the turkey body? The pumpkin, basket, birds, acorn and rooster to name a few?? Isn't that neat how Judy Whitman incorporates those into her design?I also love me a bargain!!! I found this cute guy at a craft mall recently and he had a good price on him, so I just had to take him home. In fact, he practically jumped right into my arms! I knew right away where he would go. Right by the front door on our porch. I love how they used rusty stars for the eyes and mouth.Speaking of bargains, I found these luscious wools online recently and they were a very good price too! They have sweet little names, (left to right)~Bittersweet, Old World Santa, and Vintage Linen. Ooooh, la la. I can't wait to use these babies!!One more bargain I had to share w/you is this treenware scoop. It was made by someone locally and it is very, very heavy and I got a super-de-duper price on it too.This is how I decorated it.The rosehips are highly scented and boy do they smell great! I ended up putting it on the old quilt draped across the old black chair in the family room.

Next wk. is Halloween, then Thanksgiving is right around the corner, THEN CHRISTMAS!!! Do you realize we only have less than 2 months till Christmas?? EEEEKKKKKKK!!! Now that's scary(at least for me) cuz I'm soooooooooo slow at getting things done, but at least I'll have one thing done ahead of time this yr. Hopefully I'll get a few more done real soon!!! Right now I'm stitching something up for my give~away coming up soon, but I can't tell you what it is yet. I'll be back next wk. w/more hints and/or pics of it. Stay tuned.........

See ya next time~Happy stitching!

**Tanya**
"Sharing adventures deepens friendships."

Hurry on over!

2011-10-25T16:30:00.002-04:00

The Hungry Hook Primitives is having a wonderful give~away ~just look at this awesome hand-hooked rug she is giving away! It's awesome! Go check it out!

I'll be back tomorrow w/some more goodies to show ya, so hurry back!

*Tanya*

More Things I've Made....

2011-10-20T15:00:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather. We've had gorgeous sunny warm days for over a couple of weeks now, w/just a little rain in between, but today feels like winter here in Ky!! High winds/rainy and overcast. Just makes ya want to stay in under the blankie and STITCH!!!

This wooly pumpkin pattern came out of the fall issue of the Primitive Quilts and Projects Mag. I gave this one to a very good friend of mine to finish, in exchange for a couple of travel pillows that I can't find anywhere anymore. Then I quickly went home and cut out another one for myself, which is very similar to this one. Now I just need to stitch all around the pieces and make it into a pillow. That magazine is 'sew' perfect for the prim lovers out there!

This is another give~away I won recently from the Wooden Acorn. Valerie just opened up a darling prim shop in Waynesville, Oh. and I am hoping to meet her in person one day soon! Thanks again Valerie~he fits in perfectly w/all my sheep decor!Here's another purse I made awhile back when contemplating what fabric to use for this time of yr. I started to make one more 'fallish', but this fabric was calling to me. LOL I've had it for quite sometime and thought I could use it any time of yr.It looks like stitchery on it.......... I am 'addicted' to pockets now, the more the better. There are several on the inside too.Looks a little 'lumpy' even tho' I used double the interfacing, not sure why it doesn't hold up better. Maybe I need to use cardboard next time, ha.

I wasn't crazy about how the pattern(Lazy Girl Designs) wanted you to make the zipper on the outside. Normally I really like their patterns, but probably won't make this one again anytime soon.

I had a really old Bible cover that I wanted to replace for quite sometime now, so I finally went thru all my patterns and ended up borrowing one that is an Indygo Junction pattern. It showed 3 different views, but I ended up combining 2 of the 3 and still had to cut it way down, as my Bible is fairly small. I almost designed my own, but thot I better stick w/a pattern for now. It's made from a few fat quarters of fabric. I added the 'flap' and still need to put on a 'closure' of some kind.I love rick rack on just about anything, so couldn't resist.Here's the old, ugly one..........LOL The last few yrs. it made me feel like it was way too 'young' for me! :)))Pretty pitiful, huh???Well, don't forget I've got a give~away coming up in the near future and some more goodies to share, so stop back again soon.

Hope you find lots of time to sew, stitch, read and/or quilt!

**Tanya**

"The perfect weekend equals a good friend, a great movie, and only the best junk food."

Fall Decor and More Project Bags!

2011-10-13T16:19:00.001-04:00

Here's some fall decor that I thought you might enjoy viewing. This is an old picture frame hand-painted by my step-daughter~Amy. She doesn't use any stencils, it is all free-hand. She does such a great job and has this one hanging over her fireplace.

Amy gets so excited that she decorates really early for each season. I think she had this out back in Aug. LOL

I love the old fireplace....

and the old windows....She recently found this ladder~it's over 6ft. tall...Another piece she painted....These are some project bags I made back in the summer. I've made about 8 or 9 now and have given all but one away. They are so easy and fast to make. Front side.....back side.......another blue one.....back side.......

This one I gave to our granddaughter, Brooke. She keeps her hair bows in it.

Tried a different color scheme w/this one...

This is one I made recently. I made it a few inches bigger than the other ones. Basically it takes about 3 to 4 fat quarters of fabric and one zipper.

I always line the inside w/some co-ordinating fabric.

Well, that's it for now~ I hope you enjoyed the pics. I've been sending out several RAK's recently and I'm running out of names/addies, so if you'd like to be put on my list, just send me an email w/your full name/addie and who knows? YOU just might be next. Please put RAK on the subject line so it won't get lost.

Please check back again soon as I have lots more stitched goodies to share w/you(including a quilt top) and I'm also gearing up for my very own give~away in the near future, so you won't want to miss out.

Thanks to all of you who left such sweet comments on the last few posts~they really brighten my day and I appreciate all of them!!

Happy Stitching!

**Tanya**

"Girlfriends are like rainbows. They brighten your life when you've been through a storm."

Winning streak! :))

2011-10-05T16:15:00.000-04:00

I'm finally back once again wanting to show you what all I won while I've been MIA, ha. This is a handmade dolly I won from Pat C. over at All is Bright. Isn't she just the cutest little gal?? Thanks again Pat! She is adorable! I still haven't thought of a proper name for her~any suggestions?? She has a red/white strawberry dress on, so I thought she'd look cute sitting next to all my red/white cherry items.

Then I knew I needed to tweak a few more things on the shelf below, so I got out some cookbooks I had and put them in the background for interest/color.
The next thing I won was a Lizzie*Kate calculator!!! She was giving away 10 of these babies and I was lucky enough to receive one! I love lime green!!
But that wasn't all she sent me~ she also included a LK Halloween Quick-It, a bookmark and a handwritten note! Wasn't that sweet of her? Thanks again Linda, I love it all! go check out her blog~she is an amazing designer and has always been one of my all-time favorites!!
The third thing I won was from Lainey. She had made this from a Pine Mt. Design pillow kit and wanted to pass along the chart. She ended up pulling my name and wa-la, I was a winner again! LOL
Lainey(Elaine) and I decided earlier this yr. back in the spring to do a private exchange w/each other and so this is what all she sent me from Scotland! She sent me all kinds of goodies/trinkets; ribbon, tassels, fabric, linen, buttons, seam ripper, and a really gorgeous key chain w/the Scottish emblem on it, but the best part was her sweet cross stitched pillow she made just for me!
Here's a better pic of it. I love the way she used the ribbon/buttons on the sides! so very sweet! Thanks again Lainey!!
I'll leave you w/a fall display at a nearby campground we went to recently.

I think we are all 'winners' when we share our love of things that are close to our hearts! Whether it be family, friends, crafts or recipes, we're all here for the same reasons pretty much. You are all winners in my book!!!

Smiles,
Tanya

"True friends are those who are better together than either of them could be alone."

Did Anyone Notice I've been MIA???

2011-09-26T20:03:00.000-04:00

WOWZA!! It's been a LONG time since I was able to post on here!!! Shortly after my last post(back in July) we had a horrific thunderstorm and lightning hit our house, frying my computer completely and it also knocked out our a/c compressor and our doorbell of all things! LOL So that's why I've been missing~ it just wasn't in the budget to buy a new one until TODAY!!!! I've been working some temp jobs and saving my pennies/rebates, etc. and finally found one we could afford. :))

I'm so excited to be back to blogging again! It was certainly NOT my intentions to be gone from here so long! I still hope there's some out there who remember me! LOL I have certainly MISSED all of you and I tried to still comment on some of your blogs when I could, using my son's computer, but it wouldn't allow me to post anything. wahhhhhhhhh!!!

I promise to be back real soon w/some pics, if only I could remember where my camera is!!!

Blogger certainly looks and feels a bit different to me, so I hope I can still find my way around!

BIG HUGS,
**Tanya**

If Life Gives You Lemons...........

2011-07-19T13:07:00.003-04:00

You know the old saying......if life gives you lemons, make lemonade! My step~daughter's kitchen is all done in a 'lemon' theme, so for her b'day last wk. I decided awhile back that I would try to make her a few things. I recently found this new pattern by Angel Stitchin. The pattern came w/3 lemon buttons, but I changed the colors of the threads just a little. They also had a chunky looking checkerboard design off to the side, but I omitted it because of the time factor. I'd like to pass the chart along, so if anyone wants it, just leave a comment. If there's more than one, I'll draw a name. Please know that you'll have to buy your own buttons. They are from 'Just Another Button Co."
I took this pic w/out the flash on so it'd give you a better idea on the colors.

This is only the second time I've ever made a double flange pillow, but I was pleased w/how it turned out. I found the lemon fabric at JoAnn's. Do you know how hard it is to find things w/lemons on them???

I also made her a reversible apron out of the same material. Kind of a retro look to it.
Since I'm a big fan of anything w/rick rack on it, I just had to add some...
Here's the back side.....I just kept it plain, w/no pockets or the apron gets too bulky.
I found her a green wire basket at JoAnn's too, so made her a gift basket, w/all things lemony...lol. A lemon candle, lemon handsoap for the kitchen sink, new yellow/green dishcloths and some lemon/lime stickers that you put on plastic drink cups when you have people over, so you know whose is whose. ha
My hubby's parents went w/us to visit them and celebrate her b'day on Sat. (Our oldest son drove in later and surprised her, but youngest son had to work that day). This is what my MIL(her paternal grandmother) gave her.... a beautiful set of old dishes. Several boxes in fact, so it took awhile to haul it all inside.
Here's a few more of the pieces......
All in all, I think she was very pleased w/everything she got and we had a wonderful time of family fellowship all day long. There was just a sweet spirit the whole day and lots of good food and laughter~ we had tears in our eyes we laughed so hard reminiscing about the kids when they were little.

Her town is also home to a real nice quilt shop, so all of us gals got to snatch some time in the afternoon to do a little fabric shopping. Brooke, our granddaughter, talked me into getting an apron pattern for us to make together when she comes for a visit. She picked out some cute cupcake material for it, so hopefully we'll be able to get together again soon.

I am still having some problems leaving comments on some of your blog posts. I'm really not sure what the problem is OR how to fix it, but please know I've tried. Some blogs it won't let me leave any at all and some it will, so if you've not heard from me lately, it's not because I haven't tried.

The summer is going by so fast, but I sure hope everyone's enjoying it while it lasts. We are in a heat advisory this wk. VERY HOT and VERY HUMID, so I'm gonna stay in and get back to sewing!
Happy Stitching!
**Tanya**

My Sewing Machine is Smokin'......

2011-06-23T22:15:00.004-04:00

Well not quite, but it sure hasn't seen this much action in yrs!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. We're still getting plenty of storms our way, but also lots of sunshine and HEAT in between.

First up is the Thimbleberries Quilt blocks from the second class session I had a few wks. ago.
It is very time consuming w/all the sewing you have to do, but I'm really enjoying it. This is block # 4......

I'm really trying hard to get all my seams to line up. This one is my favorite block out of the 3.

Block #5.......
Thot this purple was rather pretty.....

And block #6.....
not as crazy about this print, but I can live w/it........

Here's the first set of borders.....now these really took some time, but were pretty easy to put together.

Here's something I made today for a special someone and I plan to make a matching outfit for her to go w/it......... can you guess who it's for??? :))
I wasn't sure I liked this fabric at first, but the more I sewed w/it, the more I liked it w/all the bright colors in it.....
The bright green is the pocket on the backside....

This is one I made a few weeks ago, using the same Lazy Girl pattern....here's the front....
The fabric is actually just a tad darker than what the pic shows cuz of the flash....the red fabric is the pocket.......
and I couldn't resist making a little matching wallet..... 'Koin Keeper' from This & That designs.
The only thing I didn't like about this pattern was they called for 'heavy' interfacing, which made it almost impossible to turn inside out, making it very stiff.
but overall, I was pleased w/the tiny pockets and the little zipper for your change...
Well, my machine needs a rest and so do I~ lol. I will be back soon hopefully w/some more finished projects. I really need to give the sewing a rest and work on some cross stitching soon cuz my little needle is really feelin' lonesome right now. LOL

Here's your quote for today~"Walking w/a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." Can you guess who the quote is from??? I'll tell you on the next post ~if I remember, ha ha ha.....

Take care everyone!
**Tanya**

Fishy Tote Bag

2011-06-18T16:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!
I've been having some computer problems lately and not sure what the cause is - my comp. or blogger, but it won't let me leave comments on many of your blogs and keeps telling me to 'sign in' over and over. So I wanted to say I haven't posted much lately because of it. Thank you to all of you for your sweet comments and for hanging in there w/me.

Last nite was the 'Friday Night Sew~In' that I try to link up to once a month. It's located on my sidebar if you want to see all those who join in and what all these other gals have been working on. It just motivates ya to work on something and hopefully get some project finished and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have to even be 'sewing'.

I made this 'fishy' tote bag out of the Sandy Gervais 'Lollipop' fabric line charm packs. (for those who don't know what charm packs are ~ they are PRE-cut 5 in. squares) that I have fallen in love with. Saves so much time and your hand too from having to cut them all yourself. There really isn't a 'front' side or a 'back' side, but I tried to make them a bit different. It is really bright fabric, but I thot it'd be cute for summer. The middle squares are actually a small pocket. The key was to try not to put the same print next to another same print. Think it used about 31 charms all total, so it was a bit tricky to do that.
I don't like to badmouth anyone or any pattern company or designer, but this pattern was a bit 'VAGUE' in certain areas, as in VERY vague. So instead of sewing it wrong and having to rip it all out towards the end, I went over to my local quilt shop and let them help me w/the last part of the pattern. Thank goodness for knowledgeable quilters!

The pattern called for a completely different way to do the pockets, but I made one big on one side and 3 on the other.

Overall I was pretty pleased, but if I ever make another one, I'll do a few things differently next time.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer break! Last Sun. was my hubby's side of the family's 75th reunion!! Today we had another family get together at his cousin's house, celebrating a newborn baby girl w/a B~B~Q. We really enjoyed visiting w/everyone.

I'll try to come back sometime next week w/some more things I've been working on, so don't forget me, lol.

Here's another quote for ya, "God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways."

Hope all the guys out there have a blessed Father's Day!!

**Tanya**

June Already???

2011-06-02T16:32:00.004-04:00

Wow! I can't believe it's June already!! Are you ready for summer?? WE are! We had our second camping trip of the season this past wkend. As some of you may remember, our son-in-law is a pastor of the church in this first pic. We park our camper right there in the parking lot because we need to 'hook-up' to the electric and water, so we just walk a few steps and we're at church! LOL. Another view from on top of the hill where they live in the parsonage. They have a very nice spacious house/yard and we always enjoy visiting them and the grandkids every chance we get.

They are certainly enjoying their new pool. Boy, was it a HOT one on Memorial Day and all this wk. has been too, in our area. I ended up getting a sunburn, which is typical for me, as much as I try my best to stay out of the sun's rays, I seem to always get a bit too much.
Today I was in the mood to change some things around indoors, so this is what I did to the fireplace mantel, which I normally change seasonally. I just grabbed a few items from my Americana living room and arranged them on here.....down below on the hearth.....
Some of you may remember some of these items I showed on here last yr. I made the black mammy doll w/Americana fabric, but somehow lost her watermelon that she always carried~ LOL!

I stitched and framed the cross stitch piece, which is from an older Blackbird Designs pattern.

This pillow is from a gal who had my name in an exchange last summer. I think Blynn did an amazing job on it!

My MIL brought gave me 2 more old quilts yesterday. These two don't have anything wrong w/them, so I decided to drape them over an old chair that I moved to the family room, just for something different.

I really like the design in this one......
There's just something about the look and feel of an old quilt that reminds you of simpler times.

It's always fun to tweak things and give yourself a change of scenery, whether it be inside your home or outside, or go somewhere away from home. We certainly enjoy every time we're together w/our extended family, but it always feels great to be home again. I hope you get time this summer to get away for a few days or longer, but if not, just change things around a bit around your home, maybe a change of pace will do ya some good.

Your quote for today ~ "Give yourself permission to be kids again!"

I'll be back next time w/some more things I've made, so see ya back here soon!

**Tanya**

Wooly Wed./Sewing projects

2011-05-25T14:50:00.006-04:00

It has been really HOT the last few days and we are still getting some tremendous storms in our area, so I've been staying inside mostly, trying to be productive to some degree. I sure hate to hear about all the tragedies around the country because of this kind of weather and hope everyone keeps these people in their prayers! So very sad what all some have to go through! Ok, ok, I promise not to get too 'chatty' today! :))

Ok, for all you 'wooly' lovers out there, I actually used real 100% WOOL on this little hand towel and even some overdyed wool. I wanted to make something for THIS season, what I call 'flower/garden' season. It comes after Easter, but before 4th of July, Americana/summer season. It's the season in between that I always have trouble decorating for. A little close-up of the wool 'pot'. I used a buttonhole stitch around the entire pot, but a primitive stitch around the rest of the design. I used a little piece of flannel for the yo-yo center.
Remember this 'purse'/tote bag I made recently and showed you all last time on here? Well, I found the cutest little button at WW(we call Wal-Mart ~ Wally World, for those who live in other countries) for .67 cents!!! I think it matches perfectly!! and yes, I've been using it as a purse for myself. I hated to part w/it after all. LOL

Here's a project bag that I made recently and gave as part of a b'day gift last wk. It uses 'American Jane' fabric, which I fell in love with. Must be the schoolteacher still in me. I am planning on making another one in the reverse colors, w/red as the main print.
Also lined it w/the red print. Putting in zippers is easy peasy now! ha
Another project bag w/more 'primitive' colors.... and lined w/the black star fabric. These bags are really fast to make from start to finish.
Here's a sneak peek of the fabric I'm using on yet another sewing project that I hope to have finished today or tomorrow. I've had this fabric for a couple of yrs. now and decided it was time to use it.
......and little ol' BJ looking pitiful cuz he wants mommy to stop and play w/him and not my sewing stuff. We have this little 'chase' game that we play together ~ I chase him around the couches in the living room and boy does he fly! LOL
Today's quote~""Good company through life's journey makes the adventure seem more exciting and the road easier to travel. I thank the Lord for my traveling companions."

Hope you're not getting too bored w/all these quotes I share w/ya. Have a wonderful Memorial Day wkend for those here in the states and remember all your loved ones who've gone on before. See ya back on here next time!

**Tanya**

May Happenings...

2011-05-17T12:26:00.017-04:00

May is a killer month for us~ we have several family b'days this month and a friend or two, plus Mother's Day and we even had another death in the family too~ a cousin of mine who was only 42, died in her sleep this past wkend. I just saw her a couple of months ago at my aunt's funeral, she was her granddaughter. We hugged/talked and she took my cell phone # w/intentions to call me if anything happened w/in our family, since we don't take the newspaper anymore, but I lost my cell phone this wkend. and found out too late(about her) that they tried calling me to let me know, and I ended up completely missing the funeral yesterday, which I am still very sad about. As much as I hate going to funerals, I just needed some closure. I'm still in shock over it, don't really know the details yet. You just never know the last time you're going to see/talk w/someone do you??
This month our oldest son turned 20, my Dad turned 90, my MIL turned 73(yes, my parents are/were a LOT older than hubby's and yet he's older than I am), LOL. Plus my niece's b'day is this Thurs. and one of my best friend's is Fri. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it. LOL

Yesterday, I did finally manage to finish something I started last wk. in my new C.R.(craft room). I made a 'purse' by Lazy Girl Designs, using some fabric I've had for a few yrs. now. I didn't 'quilt' the fabric, like the pattern tells you to do, but I still thought it turned out rather nicely. I made it in stages, over several days, a little at a time. There were lots of steps, but the pattern was fairly easy to follow, w/lots of great pictures.
I used fusible fleece once again to give it more stability, and I've been thinking about adding a button to the flap. What do you all suggest??
It has several pockets on the inside...... Handles down.........
This is the back side....
Also, I managed to finish the new LK 'Peep' right before Easter, but something is missing......
Take a closer look............
Yep, it's the button!!! I can't find the button. With all the moving boxes in/out of the house to/from the barn, I can't seem to find it. LOL

Here's another cr. st. finish I just made not too long ago. It's from 'My Big Toe' designs and was a very quick stitch. I used Crescent Colors overdyed floss in Caterpillar, which gives it a nice varigated look, but the pic doesn't show too well.
Here it is w/out the flash on. Check out the 'cookie' buttons.....
Here's some fabric my step-daughter loved when we went to the quilt shop in her town awhile back. I bought a fat quarter of it, not knowing at the time what I'd use it on, but thot this cr. st. would be perfect w/it.
Here's a close-up of the smaller buttons. Even a 'Hershey kiss' in the middle. :)))

This is our oldest son, Nicholas, holding one of his gifts he got for his b'day. His hair was a bit 'flat' that day, usually it's very curly. Yes, for all those single gals interested~ he's still available, LOL> he's a great guy, good/crazy sense of humor, very generous, but a bit 'LAID BACK', sometimes a bit too laid back(for his mama), but a hard worker, nonetheless! He's been great help to me figuring out how to do this whole blog thing, so I am grateful! YOU know I love ya, sweetie! (P.S.~ he HATES to shave, thus the beard)LOL!!!

Most of you probably know that Blogger had major issues last wk. I had several comments that disappeared into blogland, along w/a few followers too, I think, but rest assured, I did read those sweet comments BEFORE they disappeared and just want to thank you for them! I sure do appreciate them too!

Here's your quote for today~ "When lack of time prevents us from doing things w/our friends, perhaps we'll be given the perfect opportunity to do something FOR them."

Have a great wk. everyone!

**Tanya**

What'cha Up to on Wed?

2011-05-11T15:02:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had one of those days where you have so many things that you could be doing and possibly should be doing, but instead you find yourself doing just a little bit of this and that, but not really much of anything at all? Well, that has been my day so far.

For the last few wks. it has been a whirlwind of activity around here, getting my oldest son moved out and into the upstairs part of the craft barn,(which we have now given the nickname of his HIGH-rise apt.)LOL, the hauling of all the junk, oops, I mean STUFF that we've accumulated in 24 yrs. of marriage, not to mention ALL the boxes of craft items(Mr. Fix-It's and mine) and his tools, ETC.

My prim room has been taken over by boxes of fall decor, wrapping paper, beach items and boxes of craft things I decorate with, not to mention the bottom half of the barn looks like a tornado hit and just flung everything around all over the place. It will take awhile to find everything once again.

Our first thought was what to do w/oldest son's OLD bedroom??? Hmmmmm, should it become a guest room, my hubby's new hobby room OR an exercise room???? Decisions, decisions! LOL I had really wanted an exercise room, cuz boy do I need one! LOL But we ended up getting plenty of exercise once we started bringing in TONS of Mr. Fix-It's model kit boxes for a future train room he has been wanting for yrs. Only problem is~ old b'room is NOT quite big enough for him to build a big train set. But the idea was for him to have a place to go w/his stuff once he completed one of his kits, which usually he just kept putting on shelves, so that someday down the road, he'd have a room big enough to build the desired train set. So we kept hauling in the boxes. Later that day I sat down on the floor, looking all around the room and thought to myself that he is just not gonna have enough space to have a train set in there and I really really want him to have his train room. (hang in there, I'm leading to something), ha!
Sooooooooooo, w/out another thought, I told him that I would TRADE my craft room out in the barn for son's old b'room. Soooooooooo, after talking it out and drawing out how I could place all my stuff in a room that is about HALF the space I had out in the barn, we started hauling all of his boxes back out to the barn and started bringing in my STUFF, which as most of you know by now is a LOT of STUFF. Like he said, 'Who needs Zumba?" :)))

Some people think I'm crazy for giving up 'every woman's dream craft/sewing room', but I was tired of having to dodge the rain/snow and cold weather every time I had to potty once I was out there, so at least I am inside now and closer to the bathroom~ LOL
I admit it is a much tighter space than I'm used to, but I am gonna give it a try at least for awhile. Hopefully I won't get too claustrophobic and hope to get more productive, since it's right next to the prim room, a.k.a. ~ near the computer! We didn't spend a cent on anything except for one gallon of paint, so I was really pleased about that. Later on I promise to show pics of the new C.R.(Craft Room), as one of my very good friends refers to hers.

We also had our extended family come in for a visit this past wkend which we enjoyed very much, so I've had a LOT going on, as I'm sure many of you have too. Our area has had an EXTREME amount of rain/storms this spring too, which has put a halt on a lot of outdoor activities.

I said all that to say, that's why I've been M.I.A. lately, but a few wks. ago, I did manage to finish another zippy bag. This one was a freebie off the internet, but I thot it turned out pretty cute. It uses 7 squares from a charm pack. This one is called 'Lollipop' by Sandy Gervais.
The instructions on the zipper part were not as clear as the last pattern I used, so I had to re-do one side about 2 or 3 times.

Didn't notice that I had the 'fishy' turned upside down until AFTER I had it finished ~story of my life, it seems, ha.

I am in the middle of making a few more sewing items, but I did manage to finish a couple of cross stitch things too, which I will try to show next time.

Thanks again for stopping by and esp. to those of you who always take the time to leave such sweet comments. I am planning on having a give~away in the near future too, as soon as things settle down a bit, so stay tuned.

Here's your quote for today ~ "Rather than focus on the thorns of life, smell the roses and count your blessings."

**Tanya**

Look What the Easter Bunny Brought Me!!!

2011-04-26T18:10:00.003-04:00

First of all I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday, celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It didn't really feel like Easter usually does to me, probably because it was pouring the rain when we got out of church that day. We've been getting some doozy storms and tons of rain lately, but everything is now in FULL bloom and very pretty.

We invited my parents-in-law to eat dinner w/us on Easter and my MIL (a.k.a. ~ this yr's easter bunny)lol, brought me 5 very old quilts. She did NOT make them, but they were in her stash. Only one was good, the other 4 were in pretty bad shape, but she told me I could use them as 'cutter' quilts. I was totally excited nonetheless. Here they are stretched out on the couch ~ these are the 'bad' ones. (Edited to say that I'm only showing you the 'good' sides), LOL.

It will be very very difficult for me to actually cut into these, but I've seen such cute things that some of you have made w/cutter quilts and I'm inspired to say the least. My sweet friend Christine, from Preferably Prim has recently made some very cute items for spring w/some of her cutters.

This one was the only old quilt out of the bunch that was in pretty good shape, so I ended up putting it in our b'room since it's done in a quilt theme.
You can tell how old they are by the stitching and looks like they've been washed a lot over the yrs.

Can you tell which one is the old one?? LOL

Also, our doggie BJ celebrated his 6th b'day last wk. on Apr. 20th. We got him when he was 9 wks. old and back then, he was all ears. He has sure filled out since then. ha
This is what he does when he wants a treat ~ he goes over to the cabinet where I keep his treats and stares at it until I give him one. But his all-time favorite treats are mini carrots, raw. I feel like I'm feeding a guinea pig! LOL

Next time I hope to share some more zippy bags I've been making lately and also round 2 of my TB quilt blocks, so keep checking back.

Here's your quote for today ~ "Girlfriends are a gift from God, and the beauty within them is His reflection."

Have a great week everyone, hope yours is not too soggy! LOL

**Tanya**

Almost Forgot!!

2011-04-16T18:55:00.007-04:00

I almost forgot to post a pic of my project for the Fri. Night Sew~In. Sorry for picture quality~ I was in a hurry. I made only one zippered bag so far, but I now have several more zippers to make more! I was so happy w/the way it turned out, mainly because I haven't sewn a zipper in about 20 yrs!!! The pattern was wonderful to work with and great to follow ~ a Terry Atkinson's design. She gives great tips too!

I am really enjoying getting back into my sewing again!! I've already got one on order, so I have plans to make several more and in different sizes/styles too, so if anyone wants one ~ I'm taking orders. Just leave me a comment on here or email me. You can choose whatever colors you want, so just let me know. They are fully lined w/quilt shop fabric and fusible fleece which makes it feel so soft. This one is approx. 4 inches by 7 in.

These would make great yr. end teacher's gifts for teacher appreciation or a great little bag to hold your glasses/sunglasses or a make~up bag, etc. This one is just the right size to put in your purse. I put my contact case/solution in mine along w/a few other items or you could even use it as a little sewing pouch.

As most of you know by now, I will always be a 'prim' gal at heart, but sometimes I just feel the need for brighter, more whimisical colors for the warmer seasons. But if you'd prefer darker colors, just let me know. I've got plenty of darker fabric that would look wonderful as well. I will try my best to get some more made over the next few days and come back w/clearer pics so you all can get a better idea of what they look like.

Have a great wkend! Here's your quote for today: "Girlfriends put the fun in together, the sad in apart, and the joy in a heart."

***Tanya***

It's That Time of Year Again!

2011-04-09T14:57:00.001-04:00

AHHH~CHOO!!! LOL Yep, it's allergy season in our neck of the woods and I've been sicky all wk. w/a stuffed-up head/sinus drainage, a really bad sore throat and now a wonderful cough that keeps us up all night long, even propped up on 3 pillows. I even tried the vapor-rub thingy that you put on the soles of your feet and is supposed to work 100% of the time ~ well, I must be the one exception! I even rubbed it all over my chest for that menthol smell to clear up my head, but still not happening!!! (My dh got me the off-brand kind, maybe that is why it's NOT working)???? So I said all that to say that I just didn't feel like doing much stitching or sewing this past wk. but I did manage to get a couple of things done before we left on our first camping trip of the season last wkend. A couple of posts back I asked you all if you had any idea what I was making w/these strips of fabric ~ nobody guessed it. It was for my very first journal cover. Now, I'm still not completely finished w/it yet, but here it is so far. It's supposed to have rick rack on the flap and also a covered button, but you get the idea. I would love to make one similar to fit my Bible, as my other one is so old. Here's the inside.... a pocket for pens and other goodies and a 5 X 8 notepad. It has a velcro closure.

I found this pattern a bit confusing and some of the info was wrong, so I'm not mentioning who the designer is, but I don't think it's for a beginner. I took notes on the pattern for the next time, cuz I'd still like to make some more.

This other journal cover is a pattern by Indygo Junction and was a breeze to work with. I made it especially for our new granddaughter who had a b'day this wk.

This pattern did NOT, however have any kind of alphabet to go by, so I just winged it and freehanded the letters myself, using pearl cotton.

The inside has pockets for pencils and pens.

I had all this fabric in my stash, so didn't have to buy any this time. :))

This is Brooke who turned 9 the other day, but we celebrated her b'day early last wkend. Her mom is a former hairdresser and put PINK highlights in her hair for her b'day. She is quite the girly girl and we had a blast w/her and her brother Ethan all wkend. I had so much fun w/them, but they wore me out! LOL

I had so much fun shopping for 'girl's' clothes for a change that I went back twice! Having boys, I never got to buy anything pink!!

Brooke's mom and aunt made the cake/cupcakes to match the napkins/plates/tablecloth.

Amy, my step-daughter, is very artistic and I thought it looked like it came from a bakery!

Here she is on the big day! There were about 15 family members that all drove from out of town to be there, including us.

She had a few more presents that came after this pic was taken that filled up the other end of the table. She got a lot of really nice gifts!! Mostly clothes, then later her mom and I watched her try them on as she gave us a 'fashion show' walking like the models down their hallway. It was bunches of fun for all of us ~ she is quite the 'ham'. LOL

Here she is squeezing her brother Ethan. :)))

They were so excited that we brought the camper and our doggie BJ w/us. They ended up sleeping w/us both Fri. and Sat. nites. We played w/play-dough and colored in coloring books and watched Disney movies and bounced off the beds, oops, wasn't supposed to let that out, ha!

Then we awoke early Sun. morn to go to church, which was just a few steps away(we parked the camper in the church's parking lot) LOL. Our son-in-law is a preacher, so we got to hear him preach for the very first time and he did a great job.

They didn't want us to leave and neither did we! A great wkend was had by all. This was the very first time we got to celebrate her b'day w/her and we were thrilled to get to be a part of it. We are looking forward to many more visits and hoping they'll get to go camping w/us this summer.

Well, I'm headed back to the couch w/my blankie and Kleenex box to stitch while I watch some movies since it's raining out again! I still owe some of you an email, so I'll catch up w/you soon! Have a great wkend everyone!

Here's your quote for today:"Laughter w/a girlfriend can soothe everything from a bad day to a broken heart."

P.S. ~ A big Happy B'day to my sister-in-law Cindy whose b'day is today!!

Take care! ***Tanya***

Almost a Quilter???

2011-03-24T17:50:00.008-04:00

As some of you remember, my first Thimbleberries quilt class was yesterday. I must admit I was a bit nervous about how I'd do and my hands were a little shaky at first, lol. We (my machine and I) got off to a bit of a rocky start, but then I finally got the swing of it and went zooming along. :)) I think the shopowner/teacher was wondering if I even really knew how to sew at all in the beginning, but she kept giving me hints that really helped and was very knowledgeable. I almost felt like I was taking a refresher sewing class at first, which is what I need desperately! LOL The nice thing about it was the other gal had cancelled, so I got the teacher all to my self pretty much the whole day! She had ALL the pieces cut out and marked lines on all the pieces of where to sew, so she had done the hard part ahead of time, thank the Lord or I'd still be there today!!! LOL I chose the lighter quilt blocks as opposed to the darker set, mainly because she didn't have all the fabric in at the time and also I thought I'd end up w/this quilt in our b'room and these lighter colors would work better in there. However, I've almost convinced myself that I'm determined to also make the darker blocks later on as well, and put that quilt in the family room. The first block was the hardest, but I finally got the hang of it....go easy on me, I know my points don't match up exactly, but some of them were pretty doggone close. LOL I have to say this class really helped boost my confidence. Block #2 was way easier and not as many seams/points to match up........

and block #3 was not nearly as time consuming, but did have a few more points to match up. Overall I was pretty pleased w/how they turned out and I'm pumped about doing the next set the end of next mth. We meet quarterly and do 3 blocks at a time, but since I was added late, I am all caught up now and will be ready to go for the next quarter. If you have a keen eye, you will notice that the center square and all 4 corners are the exact same for each block.

Needless to say, I haven't been on here much the past few days and hope to catch up w/some of you very soon! Two days ago it was 78* and a bit muggy out so later in the day I had to close all the windows and turn on the a/c for the very first time this yr!!!! Now, 2 days later, it dropped 40* and was only 38* this morning, so had to turn the heat back on!!! wahhhhhhhh! Otherwise, it is beginning to look a LOT like spring w/all the trees/plants budding/blooming. Hope you're enjoying the weather wherever you live! Here's your quote for today: "If you have but one true, faithful friend, you'll have adventures w/out end." (hope I didn't repeat this one ~ I'll have to check later) tee hee. **Tanya**

Fri. Nite/Sat. afternoon Sew-In

2011-03-19T18:36:00.014-04:00

Here's what I ended up working on for the Fri. Night Sew-In. Actually I didn't work on these last nite cuz of the horrendous thunder/lightning storm we had. I kept thinking the electric was going to go out completely and I didn't want to run out to the craft barn in the pouring rain and get electrocuted, so I waited till today to work on sewing these blocks. I am a bit rusty as you will soon tell and need way more practice! I should have strip pieced these, but didn't think of it until I had already cut them into small pieces individually, so I ended up taking the LONG way ~ Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!! Here they are laid out in the way they are to be sewn....

Ok, don't look too closely!! I know some of the strips look crooked as a dog's hind leg, and I even tried squaring them up, too!! wahhhhhhhhhhh!!! Don't laugh! I'm more of a quilter~wanna~be!! LOL Honestly, I really can sew, I promise!! I just haven't done any strips lately~ ha. Today it seemed like I couldn't even sew a straight line!! What was up w/that???? hmmmmmmm.

I had heard really good reports about 'Best Press' and I wanted to see for myself how good it is. I bought the smallest size I could find and so far I really like it and it smells wonderful. Seems to get the wrinkles out of your fabric real easily.

Here's the rest of the blocks sewn together.... can anyone guess what it's gonna be???? If not I'll try to get it finished in the next few days or so and show you the finished product. (Maybe that'll motivate me to finish it)!! :))

This Wed. is my first BIG quilt class that I mentioned on an earlier post and I'm real excited, but a little nervous. Boy, I sure hope I can get my strips a LOT straighter for the class!!!

We are having gorgeous weather here the last few days, sunny and warm and it finally feels like SPRING!!!!!!! Hope you are enjoying your wkend. so far!!

***Tanya***

A little St. Patty's Day Decor

2011-03-16T15:22:00.015-04:00

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some sunshine! We have had several overcast, dreary days and it's starting to get to me. I keep telling myself that spring is just around the corner, but the corner sure is taking its good ol' time getting here! LOL

I know most of you don't probably decorate much for St. Patrick's Day, and I never used to, but since I AM half IRISH and look the part~ reddish hair(when it's colored properly~ HA)!! green eyes, fair skin and freckles. Both of my dad's parents were of Irish descent, but my mother's side was from England, so I decided I would try to put a little 'green' out for the holiday. :))

Here's a little stitchery pillow I made in no time. I just traced around a shamrock cookie cutter, found a DMC green that matched the fabric I had and stitched it up quick. Then added a little shamrock button in the center. It looked sort of bare w/out it, but thought it turned out cute.
The bottom fabric actually has little gold flecks of color in it.

This is out in front of our house on my wee lil' flag......

The wind caught this one as I took the pic......the big flag.

A homespun towel I made last yr.

This is actually ceramic and heavier than it looks.

I always have to show you at least one or two pics that are either blurred or too light, tee hee.

Found the stand above and below at HL awhile back on sale, of course! :))

Here's that cookie cutter I traced around.....

A Pine Mt. pillow that has the cutest shamrock charm, but sorry it doesn't show up too well.

The pillow in the background is another P. Mt. pillow that I added a pillow form to. Here is our family room fireplace mantel once more..........

I bought this haulographic St. P. Day sign at the $$$ store for a dollar, but didn't realize it was 6 ft. long. There wasn't really a good place to hang it, so I just stretched it across the hearth part of the fireplace.

And that's all folks!!! LOL I wish everyone a very Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, but esp. my sweet blogger friends who really live on the 'Emerald Isle'!! Don't forget to wear green tomorrow so you won't get pinched. (does anyone know how that tradition started)?? I'd love to hear if you know.

Here's your quote for today......"May the Lord continually bless you with heaven's blessings as well as with human joys." adapted from Psalm 128:5

See ya back here on Sat. for the update on the Fri. nite Sew~In. Come on over and join the fun! You can work on anything you want, then post what you worked on.

***Tanya***

Happy Friday!!

2011-03-11T12:56:00.017-05:00

How's your week been so far?? Ours has been rainy, colder and just plain dreary out for a good part of the week. Flooding in some areas nearby, but here in eastern Ky. we live in a very hilly area, so where we live, we don't have to worry too much about getting flooded out like some, which I really feel for those who have to deal w/all that. My family lives about 5 hrs. north of us(in northwest Ohio) and they have had some real issues w/certain roads due to all the flooding they've had to endure the past few wks. So I hope they (along w/everyone) else are staying warm and dry!

My week has flown by, although not really much going on. I have been trying to go see our neighbor lady who is in the nursing home for a couple of mths. on a regular basis. I love to bake so I usually take her and her 90 yr. old roommate some fresh baked cookies every so often. Just something as simple as that can really brighten someone's day, even a teeny bit. We, as Christians, are to be a blessing to others, so I am trying to find more ways to do just that.

On Wed. I had to go pick up my sewing machine that was in for its annual check~up, which is FREE for 5 yrs.(this is my third time, so only 2 more yrs. FREE) and there just happens to be a quilt shop right next door!! I went in and talked to the shopowner for a few minutes and looked at all the gorgeous fabric that she had to offer and somehow ended up signing up for the Thimbleberries Quilt Club!!! I am getting a late start, but there are a few others who signed up late too, so we will start in a couple of weeks. I have always had a special fondness for quilts and fabric and have dabbled in it for yrs., making small items, but have only made one BIG quilt top which I never finished, so I am really excited about it. We will meet once every quarter and make 3 blocks at a time, so by the end of the yr. I should have a complete quilt top. But shhhhhhhhhh, don't tell my MIL, she'll flip when she finds out!! LOL

I only have a few pics to show you today. I have been slowly plugging away at a cr. stitch candle mat that I've been trying to get finished before St. Patrick's Day and I'm not sure I'll make it in time, but here's what it looks like so far.......
I am using overdyed threads in Juniper and Peoria Purple, but it doesn't show up too well on here.

Here's the pattern that it's from. A bit light but you can get the idea.

This little pincushion or sashet is something I made recently out of some homespun fabric I had in my stash. This was part of a b'day gift I sent recently to my sweet friend Wendy from England. She is a leap~yr. baby! You need to check out her blog ~ she is hilariously funny! The way she tells stories just cracks me up!

I think I'll be making more of these and maybe even use bigger strips the next time. I filled them w/crushed walnut shells so the pins would be able to stick in better. It almost reminds me of a 'log cabin' type of design from Cotton Way.

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! We are going to see our grandkids tomorrow for the day, so are really excited to spend the day w/them! They live less than 2 hrs. away.

We were recently reunited w/my stepdaughter, hubby and the grandkids we never knew for the past ten yrs. Ethan is 10 and Brooke will be 9 next month.

It's a very long, emotionally painful story, but we praise God for bringing us all back together again and we are beyond thrilled to be grandparents, altho' I am still getting used to that new word ~ grandma! LOL

Here's a quote for you today: "God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. He is more interested in your character than your comfort." Rick Warren.

See ya soon!

***Tanya***

Come and join the fun!!

2011-03-08T13:46:00.004-05:00

Next Fri. March 18th is the Friday Night Sew~in. Click here to join in the fun and sign up for a night of sewing/stitching/quilting or whatever you want to work on. This will be my very first time and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is working on.

In the meantime, keep on stitching!!

**Tanya**

Prim Room~ Part Two

2011-03-01T14:22:00.023-05:00

Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far. Just think, we are one day closer to SPRING!!!

Yesterday I attended a funeral (in the pouring rain) of a dear Aunt who lived to be 91. My dad's sister(Ruth) is the very person who taught me how to sew when I was a young teenager. I have such fond memories of spending part of my summer w/her and her hubby when I was 14(we lived 5 hrs. away at the time) and waking up to the sound of roosters nearby, and she lived in the city! LOL
I have lots of wonderful memories of her~ she was such an inspiration to me and a great Christian lady who will be missed my many! It was so sweet to see and catch up w/relatives that I hadn't seen in many many yrs.

Today I want to continue w/a little tour of what I call my 'prim' room. This first pic is in between the door to the room and the closet. This is to the left when you enter the room. There is only a few inches of space, so I finally found a spot to hang this hook. The top part has a raised star imprint on it(which didn't show up too well) and was given to me by a very dear friend. The stitched hanger was given to me by another good friend when we were in a Prairie Schooler exchange.

I will take you around the room as we enter. The closet door and the computer desk......

I apologize for the messy desk........

Here's where I keep lots of family photos...... The picture in the back middle section was me when I was a baby and maybe 2 or 3 yrs. old~ I was holding my baby doll~ LOL.

This black shelf used to hang out in the craft barn. I brought it in and rearranged some things on it, so some of you might recognize several items from earlier posts. As I sit at my desk, this wall is to the right of me.

I made both of the dollies. I named the one on the left after my sweet mother, Iva Jean. The other doll on the right I named 'Keisha' ~ LOL.

Some of you might remember this green New England slantback cupboard. I moved it from the other wall over to this corner and it fits here nicely. The bottom door opens to a shelf that I keep some of my books in.

Several items I have on here are from swaps, give~aways or exchanges and some of the items I made. The 'simplify' picture is actually a greeting card that I put in a distressed frame I bought w/a 40% off coupon.

This continues to the right of the green cabinet. I gave you a sneak peek of the lamp awhile back on an earlier post. The lampshade looks exactly like the one I just posted about in Part One, (the one my dh found on sale). I should have turned it on so you could see how the light shines thru the rusty tin. The little dropleaf whitewash table used to sit in the living room a few yrs. ago.

Remember that darling prim shop I gave you a tour of last fall? Well, this is the plate I bought from that shop. I made the two prim pears about 3 yrs. ago.

I also made the prim sheep on the floor as well.

Here's another cabinet that used to hang out in the barn. I kept the same items on it. I thought it looked good above the little table. To the right of this is the window that I showed you on the last post. So now we've taken a full trip around the room, LOL

Well, I hope you liked my 'mini' tour of my little prim room. I'm running out of rooms to show you, but I still have a couple more in mind. You'll just have to come back and see what I come up w/next, tee hee. Now you know where I spend a LOT of my time.!

Here your quote for today~ "God's specialty is making impossibilities possible."

***Tanya***
Sorry ~ I tried 4 times to get this underline off of here, I give up!!!!

Prim Room ~ Part One

2011-02-21T11:44:00.013-05:00

I'm finally back w/pics of my little prim computer room that I mentioned awhile back. We finally finished hanging everything right before the big Christmas Eve party we had, so now I can show you the results.
You've had sneak peeks of a few things in this room already, so some of you might remember some of the decor from previous posts and some of it was in other parts of the house/ craft barn.
The sun was shining brightly the day I took these, so keep that in mind. This is the only window in the very small room which used to be our youngest son's bedroom. As you can see, it is painted a dark burgandy color up above, w/wallpaper and border down below that looks like weathered beadboard.

We took this burgandy chair out of the craft barn and it fit this corner nicely. Some of you might remember the stitched piece that my sweet friend Shazy sent me for my b'day last yr. I made it into a pillow to fit the chair, backing it w/a golden homespun fabric.

This is the wall adjacent to the door where you come in. I turned my flash off, so it wouldn't look so bright, but it turned it a bit dark ~sorry.

This might give you a better idea.......

Remember the plate I received in my Valentine swap recently? Well, there it is in the middle...way too dark, but you can see where it ended up....

The little stitchery on the right is one I designed and framed myself a few yrs. back. I even sold a pattern of it at one time. Those exact same words are in the wallpaper border, but I made the stitchery way before we ever bought it.

Some of you might remember this wool sheep wallhanging that I showed in the very beginning of blogging. I finally hung it on that star hanger ~ LOL

Here's how it all looks together........

My hubby found this lampshade on sale for only $9.99!!! I was thrilled to say the least!!!

Well, you'll have to come back to see the rest of the room, there's lots more to share!!
Here's your quote for today: "Each opportunity we seize holds an untold number of possibilities."

See ya back here soon!
Have a great week!
***Tanya***

Give~away Enabler

2011-02-17T20:00:00.003-05:00

Jean, over at Prim Crafts is having a surprise mystery give~away. She makes the cutest things, so go on over and check her out, BUT be sure to mention my name, so I can get a few more entries.

Thanks so much! See ya back here in a few days w/pics of my prim room!
Tanya

More Hearts

2011-02-15T16:59:00.018-05:00

Well, I'm a day later than I hoped to be posting the rest of my Valentine decor, but I'm back now. Yesterday(Valentine's Day) was our 24th anniversary, so needed to spend the day w/Mr. Fix-It and NOT my computer! :)))

This is the candle mat I made several yrs. ago when I had my shop. I designed it to teach a class on penny rugs. Back then all I had was wool felt to work with and sold it in my shop, and I still have quite a few colors of it left. Nowadays I love the look and feel of 100% wool much better, but I only have a small amount in a few colors that I've bought in recent yrs. (Someday I hope to rectify that problem, LOL)
Once again, here's the fireplace display in the family room.....

Some of these might look familiar from last yr. These next two pillows are from Pine Mt. Designs that I stitched several yrs. ago.

This is a new one I stitched this yr. It was from a freebie design.

Here's where I hung Sheila's pillows she made me.

This hangs on the back door, but I forgot to show the skeleton key that hangs down below the sign.

My little flag out front.....

This is the big flag that hangs out front as well.

I put the floating heart candles under the cloche this yr.....

I actually made two of something for a change. One I gave away recently as a RAK gift. I kept the other for myself.

I made a little hanger for hanging them. It's adapted from a SamSarah design.

Well, I didn't finish one more project for V. Day like I wanted to, but when I do I will post a pic of it anyway. Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

Here's your quote for today: "True friendship isn't measured by time, but by times shared."

See ya back here soon!

**Tanya**

Sock Hop!

2011-02-11T17:03:00.006-05:00

There's a crazy sock blog hop going on over at Parsley's, so hop on over and join the fun! All you have to do is post a pic of your crazy socks and then comment on her post so people can visit everybody!

These are the socks I just received from my Valentine Swap partner last week. I thought these would be appropriate for this time of yr.

I'll be back hopefully on Mon. to show you the rest of my Valentine decor! Hurry back! Have a great wkend!

***Tanya***

RAK and a Giveaway Win

2011-02-07T17:04:00.014-05:00

I was gone all afternoon today getting groceries and running errands (in the rain I might add) and came home to find not one, but two packages waiting for me in the kitchen. The one I knew about, but the other was a total surprise from my good friend Sheila ~ Seasons of Thy Heart. She sent me a sweet RAK including all Valentine items! She knows how much I LOVE her 'canned' flower arrangements and this one is just too cute! Plus two different handmade hearts w/wire hangers, a handmade tag and the most yummy homemade candy! Oh my, it was very hard to stop at just one! LOL The flavor was out of this world!!

Oops, you know me by now, I always have at least one pic where I got too close, sorry! :))

Thanks again Sheila, how did you know I wanted to add a few more things to my Valentine display on the fireplace mantel?? I love everything you made me! So sweet and thoughtful of you!

About 3 wks. ago I won a giveaway over at Brenda's over at Pumpkin Patch Primitives, but she totally forgot to send it out, so I finally received it today! Here's the pile of scrumptious flannel ~ 22 pieces (9 X 11 in.) of ............

plaids..............snowmen and prints...........

snowflakes and polka dots............

OOOOOhhhhhhhhh, I can't wait to make something w/these babies~ lol. Thanks again Brenda! These are wonderful to the touch.

In keeping w/shorter posts this yr. so far................ here's your quote for today: "The courage to try different things is one part curiosity and two parts the inspiration of a friend."

Ok, next post I should have a few more Valentine's decor and stitchy things done to show you. See ya soon!

**Tanya**

Valentine Swap Goodies

2011-02-04T16:38:00.012-05:00

I received the most wonderful box in the mail yesterday......my swap that Parsley hosted recently. Here's what I got from Sheila B. from Sheila's Stitches n Stuff. She sent me all kinds of fantastic goodies.... I already found a place to hang this wood plate.....you will see in the very near future where I put it. tee hee~ you will just have to come back to find out where it went. LOL

Some much needed, oops, I mean wanted candy. ha ha

My very favorite scent.......... a cinnamon spice candle.

Pink heart socks and a magnetic memo pad.........

A LK Summer ABC's snippet graph........

And last but not least, the handmade item...........here's the back of it.......my very first Biscornu!

I tried taking lots of shots w/and w/out the flash, but couldn't get a good close-up. I want you to notice the SHEEP on each corner.......

The fabric is really a bit more light tan than it's showing.

Her stitching is perfection and I think she did a wonderful job on it!

Thanks again Sheila! I love everything you sent me and the Russell Stover's candy didn't last long ~ tee hee.

Still working on finishing up some more Val. things, so will be back again in a few days. Until then, stay warm and safe! Have a great weekend everyone!

Here's your quote for today ~ "Meeting a new friend is God's way of asking us to open our hearts a little wider, make a little more room to be thoughtful, and take a little more time to express His love."

**Tanya**

Valentine Stitcheries

2011-01-31T20:44:00.014-05:00

Wow! I could get used to only posting just a few pics, as opposed to the 50 million I usually do, LOL!! This will be another quickie, so be prepared...HA!

Here's just a few things I've been working on lately...now remember, these are a bit more darker tea-dyed than what it shows here, cuz of my wonderful flash again... these are adapted from a Chestnut Junction pattern. I added a little bit of lace to this one and some buttons.
A little birdie w/X's and O's around the bottom. I used an old piece of Debbie Mumm fabric on the bottom to give it a little more color. Sorry it looks a bit washed out.

Here is a cross stitch from the very talented Christine of Preferably Prim, which she designed herself and gave out as a freebie. I loved the way it turned out. I used 18 ct. linen, worked over two threads and # 8 pearl cotton for the thread and if you look closely, I used 2 ivory heart buttons, which don't show up too well in this pic, but thought it needed something on both sides to even it out.

Thanks again Christine, you did a wonderful job designing this one!

And to keep w/the Valentine theme, I recently made this Sour Cream Cherry Coffee Cake. It was a little sweet for hubby's and my tastes, but oldest son loved it! But then again, he'll eat almost anything. LOL I found the recipe over at Mommy's Kitchen on my sidebar.

Well, I'll be back w/a few more Val. things to show ya real soon. I've got a candle mat I designed and a few more stitchy things that are almost finished to share w/you, so don't forget to come back and check them out.

Here's your quote for today: "Happiness is.....opening the door to see the smiling face of an old friend."

**P.S. Just a reminder ~ don't forget to contact me if you want to be included in my RAK's this yr. The info is on the previous post. I've already sent out a couple of things and I plan to send out several more, plus a give~away coming up soon!

***Tanya***

Valentine Ginger

2011-01-25T20:21:00.010-05:00

Hi everyone! I finally have a finish to share w/you.......... a new pattern by Threadbare Primitives. I changed out her dress to be more for Valentine's Day, but I thought she turned out pretty cute! Man, these dolls are a lot of work, let me tell ya! I originally started to make these to sell, but after all the work involved, I think I've changed my mind ~ LOL!! But if anyone is interested, please shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do. I admire all of you who make these on a regular basis. Let me just say it's been about 3 yrs. since I've made one. I need more practice!

This is a real short one this time, but I promise to be back real soon w/some more finished items that I've been working on. I'm not used to only posting a few pics ~ LOL

I've decided to do more RAK this yr. and have already begun to send out a couple of boxes to some very special friends/followers. If you would like me to include your name ~ you need to be a follower of my blog. Please send me an email at(mylilcraftbarn@yahoo.com) and just put "RAK" in the subject line. Include your full name and address and I will pick from my followers every so often. You never know, there just might be a surprise from me when you least expect it! USA, Canada and the U.K. included.

***Edited to say ~ those of you who comment on a regular basis will be the first ones I send to.

Your quote for today: "Friends find joy in the pleasure of each other's company, the sound of each other's laughter, the fulfillment of each other's dreams."

Stay cozy and see ya back here again soon!
Tanya***

Snowmen Everywhere~Part Two

2011-01-13T20:12:00.042-05:00

Well, I'm back early w/part two ~ I didn't even make you wait a whole wk. like usual ~ LOL. How many of you can answer this pic w/a resounding YES??? Here's what the sign belongs to.... he's all ready decked out w/his ski's and ready to roll.....

This mitten is really way bigger than it looks here, hanging on our front door, over 20 inches long and a little darker red than the pic shows. From an old Katie's Homespun Stitches pattern I made yrs. ago. The scarf is made out of flannel.

Most of you know how much I love to decorate both inside and out for the seasons. This is on our front porch. This guy is ready to go fishin'....see his pole in his pocket, so it won't blow away?

Had to have a female in the bunch...lol

I'm sure some of you remember this big snowman head from last yr., but I moved him to a different spot this yr.

He is much more tea-dyed in person. It was a bit bright that day.

One of the gals who used to sew for my shop yrs. ago made this pillow and the 'coal' buttons for me after I stitched it. It was stitched on 7ct. sage green Klostern fabric, which makes it really big,

From a Sister's and Best Friends pattern ~ Snow Happens...... I like the dimentional carrot nose, it sticks straight out.

I sold several of these Patriotic guys yrs. ago.

Made this one too....

I sold of a few of these snow families at a craft fair several yrs. ago....you can't really tell it, but they have a sort of 'waffle-weave' type fabric.

I didn't make these cans, but I'm sure they'd be pretty easy to do.

And there they all are stretched out along the window sill.

I always hang seasonal flags and this is the one for winter.....

and here's the little flag that hangs in front of the house.... don't they look like they're having fun??

Here's some random shots of inside the house. These are paper mache boxes.

Forgot to show you a close-up of the cookie jar from last post.....

My MIL bought these for me yrs. ago from the $$$ store. I use them every winter.

Here's a wreath I made a few yrs. ago but decided to use it on the back door this yr. for a change.

If you were paying attention, you may remember that I made a blue one just like this one recently. This has been felted and is a bit darker red in person.

This cute smiley guy has a little musical button inside that plays 'Frosty the Snowman'....

a couple more tins, one is a 'bucket'....

This guy is really old and was once used for a shop model....

This was the last thing I cross stitched in 2010....'Whee Willie' by Heart in Hand.

and another Pine Mt. pillow kit from yrs. ago.... I made the inside pillow form a different fabric than what they called for. This is from their 'Tie One On' series.

Well, I hope you lasted till the very end. As you can tell, I have ALMOST as many snowmen I as I do gingerbread!!! LOL I'm sure I still missed a few, but that is the majority of them. Hope you enjoyed yet another tour of one of my many collections! ha I usually keep my snowmen out till the very end of Feb.

I'll leave you w/a brief quote..."Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."

Next time I hope to show you something I've been plugging away at and hope to be done with soon. Until then, stay warm and toasty!!

Tanya***

Snowmen Everywhere~Part One

2011-01-10T15:41:00.027-05:00

I am off to a slow start w/posting this yr. I have been taking a little break, but now it's time to get back to 'work' ~ ha! As usual, I have a lot of snowmen pics to share w/you, so I am breaking them up into two posts so I don't bore you.

Some of these you may remember from last yr., but I like to shuffle things around from yr. to yr. so they are not always in the same place as before.

Here's a stitchery pillow I made a few yrs. ago and used flannel around the outer edges. Notice the pearly buttons that make up his little 'body'.
I have lots of snowman tins, but chose to put out only a few this yr.

I kept the same tablecloth on there, but pared down the look quite a bit. I made the tablerunner in a class at a local quilt shop about 3 yrs. ago.

This stocking I made out of 100% wool and some overdyed wool.

Same design is on both sides of this wooden box.

I use a lot of snowman ornies on our Chr. tree every yr. but I keep a few out to hang on various pegs in the house.

My first rag quilt I ever made, all out of flannel and Warm & Natural, grubbied w/cinnamon for a more prim look.

This is the fireplace mantel in the family room once again, but I mixed the pieces up just a bit this yr.

A cute little candlemat I made a few yrs. ago....

A miniature tea set....

This little lunch box came w/a packet of hot choc.

Did you notice this one is carrying a 'GINGERBREAD'??? LOL

I know, I know, I need to get a picture in that cute little frame! ha That is a tea light on the right hand side.

Plate w/matching mug....

The little snowman in the front actually goes w/the little tea set....A couple more tins to finish out the grouping....

and one of my favorite decorative wood plates....(oops, think I needed to turn him just a little).

A shop model I made several yrs. ago from a Sisters and Best Friends pattern which also came w/the mitten and glove......this is my message to each of you! Be warm inside and out! LOL

That's all for part one, but I'll be back again soon w/the second half and hopefully done w/something I've been working on.

Here's my quote for the day~ "We are brave in the face of new experiences if we have a faithful friend to journey w/us".(Unknown).

Well, see ya next time and I hope your year is off to a great start!
Tanya

Tonight's the Night

2010-12-31T10:32:00.021-05:00

This is it folks ~ this is my very last post for this yr. I've really enjoyed 'meeting' so many of you in blogland this yr. and since I've become close w/several of you, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to pop over and visit me and a special thanks to those of you who leave sweet comments! I really enjoy reading them and appreciate them more than you know!
Ok, enough mush! LOL

Here's a wool felted pillow I made recently for a Christmas present. It was based on an Indygo Junction pattern, but I changed it just a bit and added the 'beads' in between the snowflakes. This was one of the few items I had stolen from my shop several yrs. ago, so I decided it was time to make a new one. This is from a 'You Are Special' pattern and I've always loved his sweet little face. Made w/wool and warm & natural batting. Notice the tiny rusty 'bell' on the bottom of his hat.

I actually stitched this back in '05, but just recently made it into a pin pillow. It's from an Angel Stitchin' pattern. The top fabric is darker IRL, tea-dyed Monaco, I believe.

Here's what I stitched and had framed as a Christmas present this yr. for my sweet hubby! He was totally surprised!! He had no clue at all. I love the frame, a bit on the rustic side. This is from a Hinzeit pattern and it came w/the charms. (click on pic for a better view). I did use overdyed threads, but they came out very subtle looking.

And this is what I made for his mom ~ my MIL, who is a fantastic quilter. I told her this was my version of a quilt. LOL She loved it. The frame totally suited her style and tastes. This one's from a Design Connection booklet and it has 5 quilty patterns in it.

Here's a pre-made pillow I stitched yrs. ago, but I still love it! From an Alma Lynn pattern booklet.

This one was a shop model in it's former life. ha From a Lizzie Kate pattern and my hubby framed it for me w/a Homespun Elegance frame that I carried in my shop at the time.

Here are a few random shots of various Chr. pics taken around the house. Our real tree was in the family room again this yr.

This is what I had on the fireplace mantel. I wanted to keep it looking like it went w/the style of the room.

A close-up of Mary/Joseph/Jesus. I got this resin nativity last year, made by Blossom Bucket.

I even tossed a few pine needles from our tree to make it more realistic. LOL Look how tiny that front sheep is!

Here's where the stockings were hung......... I made those back in 1992!! See the little 'baby' one on the star 'tree'.

This was hanging on our front door, which I finally painted black awhile back.

When I look back over all the things I actually finished making this yr., I totally surprised myself! My goal is to try to make even more in the coming yr. I finally realized this yr. that I do much better finishing things if I stick to one or two projects at a time, instead of having several. On the next post I'll explain a little further what my plans are as far as my stitching goes.

Thanks for visiting! I'll leave you w/a quote I took off of a Dayspring e-card sent to me from a very sweet friend.
"A Blessing for the New Year" ~ we pray that You would give us joy to fill our days, peace to fill our hearts, and love to fill our lives. Thank You for the plans You have for us this new yr. We wait in anticipation to see all You will do.
Thanking God for you and praying your new yr. is blessed in every way." Jer. 29:11

Ok, that's it for this yr. Hope to see ya back next yr! :)))
Tanya*** (sorry ~ don't know how to get this underline off of here, LOL!!! Guess I hit the wrong button! :))

Gingerbread Chr. Part Three

2010-12-27T14:47:00.049-05:00

I trust everyone had a wonderful Christmas w/family and friends! We ended up having 25 people(from hubby's side, w/a few missing from out of town) over on Chr. Eve and my kitchen had never seen so much food at one time! It turned out great and I think everyone enjoyed getting together again. It had been a few yrs. and we used to always gather every single yr. for many, many yrs. It was always a magical time for the kiddos and adults alike. Good motivation for DEEP cleaning your house, lol.

Here's the last of the gingerbread posts, and it is a long one so I hope you'll hang in there w/me. I promise I'm not trying to win any kind of award w/having the most. It only looks that way, ha.
(Click on any pic to make larger).
This is the darling gingerbread doll and 'baby' that my good friend Wendy made for me and sent all the way from England! I was totally surprised and thrilled when I opened the box! She made it out of wool felt and zigzagged around the outer edges for the 'icing'. I just love her outfit and hair bow, and the baby is too cute! Thank you again Wendy, I hope you got my email awhile back.
This is a stitchery I finished last wk. from Chestnut Junction. I might make it into a pillow. If you look closely, you'll see the fabric has little candy canes in between the gingers.

Here's a tea towel I finished last wk. as well. I used the over dyed wool, from a Backyard Friends pattern.

I also finished this valance for the kitchen last wk. too. Guess I was in a 'stitchy' kind of mood. LOL

Here's some random pics of more gingers I've collected........

Sorry about the blur, it looks better in person. A really old pattern I stitched on perforated vinyl.

The corner cabinet......

Another gift from my MIL...

Found this towel at HL last yr.

Bought this off of a gal I met recently....

made from wood, w/a hanger......

I found this resin 'cup' at a craft fair back in the fall....... it says, 'Serve w/milk, expires Dec. 26th'.

I made some Eggnog cookies and used my ginger cellophane bags/ribbon to wrap them with. Let me know if anyone wants the recipe. It really doesn't call for Eggnog, just uses several eggs.

Had to have at least one Boyd's Bear w/ginger baby!

This is what the table first started out looking like........ a bit plain to say the least....... but wait, first I'll show you the close-ups, then it gets a bit better...(hubby bought me the 3-pc. matching ceramic set ~ bowl, pitcher and dish a few Chr's ago).

Salt/pepper shakers...

Another set.......

awwwwwwww, now that's better, don't ya think??? Here's the tablescape I mentioned on an earlier post......notice the napkin rings are gingers too.......(but I only had 4~ wahhhhh!)lol

Found this whole set of dishes last yr. but never got to use any of them because our kitchen wasn't even finished until Chr. Day, so it was really fun getting them out and using them this yr. for the first time.Mug w/buttons....

Mug w/heart.......

These are wax tarts that I put on top of the pie safe in the laundry room....

right next to this cutie.........found him at a craft fair last yr.

Don't ya love his smiling face???

And one little magnet on the fridge.

That's allllllllll folks, lol. End of tour! Whew! I never realized how many gingers I actually have, goodness! I also have a gingerbread apron I made a few yrs. ago, but couldn't find it, so maybe next yr.

I hope you didn't get too bored w/such a long post! I decided to wait and show you the other stiched pieces I made for Chr. presents on the next post, which I hope to get in before the end of the yr. (just remember I didn't say WHICH yr.) LOLOL

Have a quiet and relaxing week everyone! I'll leave you w/a short quote, not sure who originally said this, but I heard it on tv once. "If you look back over the course of your year and you don't cry either tears of joy or tears of sorrow, it was a wasted yr."

Let me know what ya think.
Tanya***

A Sweet Gingerbread Christmas ~ Part Two

2010-12-20T21:29:00.026-05:00

I'm back w/the second part of the gingerbread tour. Thank you for all the sweet comments on the last post. I see there are a lot of you out there who enjoy anything gingerbread as much as I do!
Let's continue on.......this is my little gingerbread tree(only about 4 ft. tall) that used to be in our old family room, but this yr. I had to make room for it in our living room, in front of the big picture window. Our big tree is in the new family room. I put on colored lights and wrapped berry vines around it too.

I found this darling gingerbread tree skirt a few yrs. ago. Then I added a few wood/ceramic pieces randomly around the base, (mostly because I wasn't sure where else to put them) ~ LOL.

A little closer view....... on the left side. That's a little ceramic dish in the front(the one w/the red bow).

Front view......

Right side view......the little guy in the back is what my hubby got me about 4 yrs. ago.

I think I found these at JoAnn's a few Chr's ago.

A few close-ups of the ornies.......... this one is one of my favorites. It's a tag made from flannel, really soft.

Got a tad bit close on some of these shots, but you can get an idea....this one is actually made from carved wood.

There were a few more on the back side of the tree that I forgot to take, but they were mostly ones that were sort of kitchen themed.

Here's a big Gooseberry Patch bowl that I'll be using on Chr. Eve.

Inside is a recipe for Grandma's Sugar Cookies......you would think they would have printed a gingerbread cookie recipe instead, but oh well....

This sits on top of the big cupboard in the kitchen. A friend made this for me a few yrs. back.

Isn't she cute??

That's all for part two..........I hope you're enjoying your visit so far and I'll try my best to be back in a few days for part three, but if I don't make it in time to post before Christmas, my wish for you is that you celebrate Jesus's birth w/a new found love in your hearts for Him this holiday season! Ponder the true meaning of what Christmas is really all about ~ that our wonderful Savior came to be born in a lowly stable for the sole purpose of dying for our sins, yours and mine. How wonderful to really know Him and experience His tremendous love for us.

Otherwise, I should be back at the first of next wk. w/part 3 and some more Chr. pics, PLUS some things I made recently for gifts and for myself, HA! Oh, and you won't want to miss out seeing what Wendy of the 'Quiet Room'(click on sidebar) sent me all the way from England ~ it has something to do w/gingers, too! I just love it and hope you will too. But for now, I'll keep you in suspense.........tee hee.

I've made my list and checked it twice and I'm sure I'm forgetting something! This is a crazy, busy week for most, and esp. when you're expecting about 25-30 people over to your house for Christmas Eve. Hopefully the weather will hold out or we'll be eating ham for weeks, ha.

I'll leave you w/a little quote from Joyce Meyer, "Worry is totally useless. It is like rocking in a rocking chair all day. It keeps you busy, but gets you nowhere."

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a stress-FREE Christmas! :)))
Tanya***