Needles and Pens

Leave it to me. On Thanksgiving Eve, with bread yet to be baked, a turkey yet to be prepped, and a houseful of company expected tomorrow, I've been totally obsessed with finishing this Thanksgiving mini sampler. But hey, it's done! And just in time. LoL Now for the bread and the turkey... Have a Happy Thanksgiving, all! :o)

Hard to believe a whole week has passed since my last post, and it's time again for Sew & Tell Friday . I did have a few days off this week, and though I evidently didn't have any time for blogging, Facebook, or anything else online, I did manage to accomplish a few other things... One of the quilting charities I've enjoyed sewing for over the past few years is Quilts with Love , an organization that sends quilts to our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, QWL has supplied almost 2,000 homemade quilts to U.S. service men and women -- an incredible number for a small group of volunteers! If you'd like information on submitting a soldier's name, or helping out with donations, just click on the link above to visit the Quilts with Love web site. I've written here before about QWL, and have shared some of the quilts and quilt tops I've donated in the past... ... and here is a picture of my brother-in-law, taken back in May, when he returned from a...

Honestly, if not for the motivation of Amy's Sew & Tell Friday , I wouldn't have sewn a stitch this week. I worked a lot of hours, and Hancock's was busy . Lots of people sewing for the holidays, taking advantage of all the sales on right now. With week two, I learned that standing on your feet for eight hours cutting fabric (seriously, it has been almost non-stop) is very physically demanding. Oh, my aching hands and feet! Thankfully, I have today off for a little rest, and a bit easier schedule next week. Just have to get through working the weekend. A trip to the Athlete's Foot for a pair of good walking shoes is definitely on my to-do list today... Anyway, despite the aches and pains, I had Sew & Tell on my mind all week. There was very little of me left in the evenings for sewing, but I was determined to finish something . On Wednesday night, I cut out and fused the pieces for the November Seasons of the Heart block-of-the-month, and last night, I did the ...

Climbing the furniture, climbing the stairs, eating the dog's food, dumping the dog's water, and hearing lots of "be carefuls," and "no, no, nos" from Grandma. (The t-shirt says, "I tried to be good, but I got bored," for a reason. Here, Aaron attempts some glider-rocker surfing.) Four-wheeling with Grandpa... ...and with Uncle Tim... ...any guess who his favorites are? But Grandma's alright, too, especially if you're hungry, your pants are wet, or it's four a.m. and you miss your mommy. ;o)

I can't believe it's already Sew & Tell Friday . What a week! I guess my biggest accomplishment was just surviving my first few days on the job at Hancock Fabrics. There's never a dull moment there, that's for sure. Busy, busy, busy! I don't think I've cut as much fabric in my lifetime as I cut this week. I'm enjoying the job so far, but one thing is clear, I won't have near the time to spend in my sewing room -- or on my blog, for that matter -- as I used to. (And don't even ask what my house looks like. LoL) All things considered, I'm happy with what I did finish this week. I posted on Sunday about the fleece blankets I clipped and tied for our church blanket drive. Besides that, I also finished one more child's quilt top. This one is a bit larger than the one I finished last week, for a slightly older child: Again, these were almost all donated fabrics, and I have enough left over to make at least one more quilt with these crazy sheep...

Our church's Fall Fleece Festival (making fleece blankets for those in need), was a huge success this year. There were so many generous donations of fleece, that even after the Sunday school classes and youth group completed 45 blankets, there was still more fabric to spare. I had a lot of fun this afternoon, cutting and tying a few of the remaining blankets. They're so quick and easy to make, and the variety of colors and prints is awesome... Mmmm... soft and cozy... they're sure to keep someone nice and warm this winter. :o)