Needles and Pens

It's Show and Tell day over at Kelli's House , and after weeks of blogging about my office/sewing room in progress, I'm finally proclaiming it finished . This project has come a long way , so for Show and Tell today, some pictures of my new room... The view, as you walk into the room: The "office" area: The "sewing" area: And where the two worlds collide, writing books meet quilting fabric: I'm sure there will be more little decorative touches to come, but here are a few items that just had to be in here right from the start. I made this mini-quilt to cover up the big hole in the back of my Freecycle desk: Wall space is at a premium in this room, but every office needs a few certificates on the wall. Here is my diploma from the Institute of Children's Literature , and my sixth-place award for a children's story entered in the 2001 Writer's Digest Writing Competition . Wow... has it really been that long? This little writer bear was a sp...

It's Show and Tell day over at Kelli's House , and since I've been on a sewing spree this week, finishing up several long unfinished projects, I thought I'd just share what I've accomplished. (And maybe bask in the glow a little bit. LoL) First, a pair of sweatpants originally cut out for oldest son, now the perfect size for my youngest daughter, Emily. Nice pose, huh? Next, a doll nightie I cut out long ago, to match pjs for the girls. Finished the pjs, forgot all about the poor doll - until now. Finally added a zipper and hem to this dress for my oldest daughter. I started it last winter, but found at the last minute that it was too small. In my frustration, I lost interest in the whole thing. Ironically, she's lost weight since then, so now it actually fits. Couldn't get her to model it for a picture, though. Next, four sets of pajamas cut out by my husband's grandma... who knows when? Probably when my sister-in-law was a little girl. Grandma gave me...

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...

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...