Needles and Pens

It's Show and Tell day over at Kelli's House ! I'm relatively new to Show and Tell, and I'm already having a hard time finding things worthy of showing! I think my post today is a bit unusual, but it does have a great story to go along with it. At least, I think so. ;o) I have a thing for birds' nests. I'm amazed at the intricate, detailed work that goes into them. I'm inspired by the care taken in the construction of these little works of art, designed for the specific purpose of comforting and protecting their young. Like this one, for example, a high-walled, cozy little cubbyhole, tightly woven with soft, grayed moss. My dad found this one abandoned in his garage, and gifted it to me. Besides this little beauty, I have a couple of nests that grace my Christmas tree each year (I've heard that this brings good luck for the coming year). However, there is one special nest that holds a place of honor in my china cabinet, year round. This is the one with t...

Finally, my first finished quilt for 2008! "A Box of Chocolates" is a mostly-monochromatic brown/cream, nine-patch quilt, made from fabric samples that have been in storage for over 20 years now. I think its about time they were put to good use, don't you? I have plans -- and more than enough samples -- to make several more of these, in various colors. This photo doesn't really do justice to the rich colors and prints in the quilt. Here's a closeup for a slightly better view, also showing the border, backing and binding fabrics I chose: Of course, there's a story behind all these fabric samples. Back in the mid-to-late '80's, my parents owned and operated the local Ethan Allen furniture gallery. Unfortunately, recession slowly forced them out of business and the gallery was closed in 1987. My mom -- who has the same affinity for fabric as I have -- couldn't bear to throw away the thousands of beautiful samples in the inventory. In fact, she saved b...

Well, getting all the quilting fabric sorted yesterday really helped to put my space into perspective. I spent just a few minutes looking over my sorted piles today, and I could see just where everything would fit. For the smaller pieces, I decided to make better use of my drawer carts. Now my cut scrap pieces are in the smaller upper drawers, and the lower drawers hold fabric. I even got labels on the drawers. Yeah! The larger pieces went on two unused shelves on my bookshelf. I'm not sure I like it being out in the open like this. On the other hand, it might just inspire me to get sewing! And the REST of my fabrics are in bins in the closet. I wonder if I can use all of this up in my lifetime??? Now I have just a few boxes of miscellaneous "stuff" to go through from my old sewing room, and my new sewing room will be set! Then it's finally time to move my desk and computer up there. Still not sure how I'm going to like that, but I'll never know unless I try,...

This is my beautiful daughter on the day of her baptism, just over eighteen years ago. She's a young woman now, embarking on her greatest journey in life. A journey none of us would have chosen for her at this time, or in these circumstances, but we rest in the knowledge that God, in his infinite wisdom, has a plan. This fall she will be blessed with a baby of her own, joining me in all the joy and heartache that is motherhood. So we go forth in faith, put our questions and doubts aside, and look forward to the reward of this new little one in our lives. "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward." ~ Psalm 127:3 The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God’s word through photos and a verse! Click on the logo above for more Word-Filled inspiration.

They're tackling all kinds of projects today over at Five Minutes for Mom. Click on the logo above to see what folks are tackling this week! As for me, I'm tackling this: Looks like fun, huh? This is all of the quilting fabric that I hauled from my basement yesterday, up to my new sewing room. It is complete chaos, and today I hope to change that. The plan is to sort everything by size and color, then decide where I'm going to store it all. My other fabrics are already in bins in the closet, but the quilting fabric is the most often used, so it needs to be easy to see and readily available for picking and choosing colors. I don't really have a solid plan yet, so this should be an interesting challenge. Update to come, later today. Stay tuned... Update: 7:00 p.m. Well, I didn't get it all done, but I did get the whole pile sorted by size and color. These are all the pieces one yard or more: Less than one yard: One bin of scraps, and another filled to the brim with ju...

Woohoo! Good news! I was a very good girl this past week, and I lost the four pound birthday gain, plus one! Five pounds! Must have been a lot of water weight involved, but I can't tell you how great it feels to be back on track. Hopefully I can now kiss the 140's goodbye, once and for all. The next milestone will be getting to 134 (five more pounds), which is where I was last August before my diet was derailed. At that point, my goal weight will feel within reach once again. Yes! This weekend I discovered that the Wii game system gives you a pretty good workout. I "bowled" with my kids nearly all day on Saturday, and could barely life my arm all day Sunday. LoL Had I sat down between turns, I would have had the added benefit of working my thighs (sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up...), but the way my shoulder and arm felt, I'm glad I chose to stand between turns for the most part. Love the way these video games are getting so physical, though. Between bowlin...

As I contemplated the whole “passion” prompt this weekend, my thoughts turned to the things I enjoy doing, the self-fulfilling activities that bring joy into my everyday life. I found it difficult to zero in on a theme, however, so I mentioned it to my 13-year-old daughter: “Oh, that’s easy,” she said. “Really. And what would you write about?” “Music.” Of course! For her, it is easy. She eats, sleeps, and breathes music. Oh, there are other things she enjoys; her friends, her family, her pets, the occasional video game, but for the most part, it’s all about music. She sings, she plays guitar, she writes lyrics, and if she’s not singing, playing, or writing music, she’s probably online, printing out more lyrics. At this stage in her life, music is her life. It was easy for me, too, at that age. I ate, slept, and breathed horses. I spent my earliest years desperately wishing for a horse of my own, saving my every dime in a little tin box for the day my dream would come true. When it f...

Ever since I saw that the Photo Hunt theme for this week is "wooden," I've had this song stuck in my head. It's one of my father-in-law's standards: *Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn) Can't you see I love you Please don't break my heart in two That's not hard to do 'Cause I don't have a wooden heart And if you say goodbye Then I know that I would cry Maybe I would die 'Cause I don't have a wooden heart There's no strings upon this love of mine It was always you from the start Treat me nice Treat me good Treat me like you really should 'Cause I'm not made of wood And I don't have a wooden heart Muss i denn, muss i denn Zum Stadtele hinaus Stadtele hinaus Und du, mein schat, bleibst hier? There's no strings upon this love of mine It was always you from the start Sei mir gut Sei mir gut Sei mir wie du wirklich sollst Wie du wirklich sollst 'Cause I don't have a wooden heart * Created by Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Kay Two...

I'd like to thank Sherry, at The Journey Back , for inviting me to join in "Show and Tell Friday" over at Kelli's House . I thought of several things I could share for my first Show and Tell post, but my thoughts finally came around to quilting (of course!) and one of my most-treasured possessions, my "heirloom UFO." In quilter-speak, a UFO is an UnFinished Object, something which most quilters have in abundance. This particular UFO is a special one, though, as it was started by my mother in 1947 and is still a work-in-progress. My mom was only fifteen when she decided on a whim to make a Sunbonnet Sue quilt, based on the one her sister had on her bed. She proceeded to cut 160 little pieces from my grandmother's sewing scraps, and even basted down the edges on many of them before losing interest and packing all of the tiny pieces away. The truly amazing thing is that my mother (who became an Air Force wife) hung onto all those pieces for nearly fifty y...

I have no idea who wrote this poem, but it was just so appropriate with my raging cabin fever, I had to share it. I received it in a forwarded email, so if you happen to know where it originated, please let me know so I can give credit to the author. ;o) Minnesota Poem It's winter in Minnesota And the gentle breezes blow Seventy miles an hour At twenty-five below. Oh, how I love Minnesota When the snow's up to your butt You take a breath of winter And your nose gets frozen shut. Yes, the weather here is wonderful So I guess I'll hang around I could never leave Minnesota 'Cause I'm frozen to the ground! ~ Author Unknown

The purpose of Word-Filled Wednesday is to share God’s word through photos and a verse. For more Word-Filled Wednesdays, visit The 160 Acre Woods .

Now that all the birthday and Valentine celebrations are over, I'm ready to get back to tackling my sewing room, one small bite at a time. Today, I'm sorting through the pile of notions and patterns in the corner and getting it organized into the white cupboard at the right. The drawer carts hold my quilting scraps, and I also need to decide where those are going to live: Once that's finished, I'm going to finally get this charity quilt top layered and pinned. Maybe even get started on the quilting, too. We'll see how that goes. Not only would it be a huge relief to get this quilt done, it would make just a little more space in my sewing room -- for more projects! So, I'd better get going and get it done, then I'll post an update later today. Update: 2:30 p.m. Where did all that stuff go??? Believe it or not, it's all in here: The top two shelves hold all of my sewing notions, with room to spare (no worries, it'll be filled when I bring up the rest ...

"AHHHHHHH..." Did you hear that scream this morning? At about 8:30 central time? That was me, doing my weekly weigh-in. It seems my birthday week has taken a major toll on my weight loss progress. In one week, I gained back what it took me four weeks to lose. I'm up, four pounds. Yuck. But I'm determined to shift into high gear this week and see if I can knock that number back down again. Wish me luck!

A (Tooth) Fairy Tale I don’t know if there’s one tooth fairy that covers the globe every night, or if it takes a whole battalion of them to make the rounds, but I have a hunch it’s the latter, because when I was a child, the tooth fairy never failed to deliver. I’d snuggle in to sleep at night, careful not to disturb the newly-displaced tooth under my pillow, and then wake in the morning to find a shiny new quarter had taken its place. It was there every time. It was magical. But the tooth fairy assigned to my children is either dreadfully distracted or just plain slow. Or maybe there really is only one fairy and she’s become senile after all these years. Either way, she repeatedly forgets to visit in a timely manner, and more than once, I’ve had to cover her back. A disappointed child comes down for breakfast with news that the fairy was a no-show, and I have no choice but to go upstairs, rustle the covers, and “find” the missing dollar at the foot of the bed. “It was there all alo...

When I heard that this week's Photo Hunt theme was " free ," these photos immediately came to mind. This is my son, several years ago, on a visit to my brother's and his wife's home in Illinois. They had an awesome setup with a platform to climb, a rope to swing on, and a huge pond for landing. It was big-time fun on a hot day! First, you had to work up the nerve to jump: But once you did let go, you never felt so free : Join the Photo Hunt !

So yesterday was my birthday. I don't know why I always dread my birthday. It has nothing to do with age. It's more a discomfort with being the center of attention, I think. Yet I am so lucky to have a family that showers me with love on this one day each year. Of course, they love me every day, but on my birthday, they bend over backwards to show me just how much. And not everyone is so fortunate. Yes, I am truly blessed! I woke up to a text message from my oldest son, already two hours into his workday, he took a minute to send a "Happy Birthday, Mom -- and Happy Valentine's Day!" Aww... put a smile on my face, as I shuffled the younger kids out to the bus. Later in the day, I picked up my mom and we went to lunch, and then shopping for my birthday gift -- a new desk chair -- which I love! I came back home to find a voicemail on the phone. It was the entire high school choir, singing "happy birthday" to me, followed by my 18-year-old daughter saying, ...

Be My Valentine And since tomorrow is also my birthday, here's me, circa 1966: Happy Wordless Wednesday -- and happy Valentine's Day!

Off to a slow start today, as I just got home from my daughter's high school variety show this morning, an annual event for "Snow Week." She sang Taylor Swift's "Our Song," and it was just beautiful! Someday maybe I'll figure out a way to upload videos to this blog. Anyway... what I should be tackling today is my sewing room. I haven't made any progress since last week, though we did get our son moved into the room that I painted. I should be diving into that pile of sewing stuff today, but something else has come up. And it's more fun. And should is a bad word anyway. All it does is promote guilt. hehe SO... here's what I am tackling today. I belong to a local crafting group called Charitable Crafters , which donates hand-crafted items to our local hospitals and other organizations. I was reading their blog last night and saw that the animal shelter is in need of Cage Cozies . Coincidentally, I had just replaced my youngest son's ver...