Needles and Pens

... there was lots of working, and sewing, and keeping the household afloat between bouts of summer partying, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, the end of one school year and the beginning of another, halloween... ...and now it's November once again. Wow. It's official. I am the world's worst blogger. Yet somehow I can't quite give it up. And as usual, I have a hard time deciding how to pick up where I left off. Which would be... June. Oddly enough, it was my biggest June quilting project that brought me back to my blog tonight, so I guess that's a good place to start. I recently received an email from the Wrapped in Hope project, and stopped by to add their link to my sadly neglected blog list, and here I am. :o) So, a little about Wrapped in Hope: One of the various projects of Margaret's Hope Chest (which has, to date, donated 722 quilts to people in need), Wrapped in Hope provides birthday quilts "to bring HOPE and comfort" to children who a...

I haven't written a blog post since January? Wow. I can't believe how time flies since I started my new job. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do, not to mention what I have to do. Not that there ever were enough hours, but there are a whole lot less now. Funny how my "part-time" job has become more and more "full-time" as I've gone along. Still, I have squeezed in some sewing time here and there. It's almost a necessity when you're surrounded by fabric all day, talking to people who have fun, creative projects going on at their house. It's more than a little contagious. So this is what I've been working on since... January. (Still can't believe it's been that long.) A Noah's Ark Disappearing Nine-Patch baby quilt for a friend at our church, who recently had a beautiful baby girl... With my first attempt at a pieced quilt back... And another scrappy Fun with Bricks baby quilt for my h...

My youngest daughter, Emily, is turning fourteen next weekend, and it was decided that what she really wanted for her birthday was to have her room redecorated... again. This time she's promised me that she'll love it for at least the next four years -- when she can move out and redecorate her own house every month if she likes. LoL At any rate, here's the "before" picture, mid-furniture-shuffle, showing the blue and green with baby jungle animals from not so long ago (sigh): Emily is a musician through and through, a singer, guitarist and songwriter, so the new theme is MUSIC in black and white. With Thanksgiving coming up, we wanted to get the painting done early, so this weekend we painted the walls satin white. Quite a change from all the color in there before! And one thing she's always wanted in her room is a wall mural, so we took an idea from some prints in the school's music room and decided on a musician silhouette. Yesterday, while Emily was gon...

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...

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...

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...

This week's Photo Hunt theme is narrow , and I had a really hard time finding a photo to fit the theme. Then I came across this picture of our cat, who is always peeking through narrow spaces, waiting for her chance to pounce: I know, it's a stretch, but there ya go... Happy hunting !

Our bunny, Texas, is on my mind today ( see yesterday's post ). I've never seen another rabbit lie back for a foot massage. We miss you, Texas!

Texas came into our home in June 2007, just a little ball of the softest fur you've ever felt. She spent the summer in her hutch in a shady corner of our backyard, enjoying the cool breezes and daily doses of love and sweet clover. I've never known a rabbit that so enjoyed being held and cuddled. When the cool fall weather turned to wintery cold, Texas became a house rabbit. She lived in Emily's bedroom closet and learned to use a litter box. Being so close at hand, we all grew more and more attached to her. Sadly, Texas passed away today. Why? We don't know. It seemed she was fine one moment, gone the next. As I told Emily, sometimes these things just happen. Small comfort to a devastated child. But we'll find comfort in knowing that Texas' short life was a good one. No rabbit was ever loved more. And she will be missed...

This week's Photo Hunt theme is "small," and Rainbow, the betta fish, is the small est member of our household. Don't mind the hungry look on the cat's face. She really just likes to drink fish-flavored water, when no one is looking. I usually shoo her away when she attempts this, but I couldn't resist taking this shot before sending her off to find her own water bowl.

Whew! All of the camel costumes are done. See? They really weren't too complicated, but making eleven of anything can be tedious. Needless to say, I'm relieved! Here's Tim, modeling his costume. We still need to get a tan shirt and pants to match... ... and a side view, with a backpack "hump" underneath... I'm sure we won't feel the full "camel" effect until we get together in a big group, with all of the donkeys and sheep. I'll have to get a picture on Sunday. But for now, I'm pretty much camelled out! ;o)

This week's project is to make eleven camel costumes for the 3rd and 4th graders in our church Christmas program. It's an easy enough costume, really. Just a little poncho with a hood attached, so I should have no problem getting them done in time for the program this Sunday. I hope. Today I'm attaching the ears to the hoods, and for the life of me, I couldn't picture just where a camel's ears were placed on his head. So I was happy to find some great pictures at Fohn.net's " Camel Pictures and Facts " website. (If you ever want to know more about camels, this is a great resource!) Hopefully I'll make some progress today, and have a photo of the actual costume to share soon. Then I can move on to other things, like making and shopping for Christmas gifts. I have a whole two weeks yet... right?