Knitting Lessons

Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859

So last year's New Years resolution was learning to knit. With the help of books, lots of You Tube videos & practice, we did ok. My daughter did well and picked it right up. While I enjoyed it, I was ready for my crochet hook by the time all was said and done. I still want to learn more, but I want to take a class so I can watch someone do it. Books are hard for me. I'm a hands on learner, which is always inconvenient as you have to wait for a patient teacher who has time to deal with you to come along and save the day.

This is "photo essay" of our first knitting adventure. Wow! Using the words "photo essay" makes you feel so smart and artistic. LOL

Getting started...


I loved this picture because my dog's nose is trying to get me to pay attention to her while I'm trying so hard to concentrate! Geeze! Someone always wants mama...give me a break!




She is a natural! She loved it, which made me very happy. She needed a craft outside of what her mother loves, to call her own.


I'm TRYING!!


Had to take a mental break....scream....add a fake eye ball impalement for dramatic effect


LOOK! We invented something. A toe blanky. We're going to make a million $$$'s off this pattern some day. LOL For realz!


I surrender. Give me my crochet hook!


Look at her go! She's a genius. I love this kid!


If you want to teach yourself to knit, there are some great books out there, but we learned the most from You Tube videos. I hope to eventually move on to hats and socks.

Be blessed! Choose Joy! Love you all!

Wish we had snow to play in

I know, I know...those of you with snow are hating every minute of it while wishing you lived in Florida, where it's always sunny (when it's not raining) and we never get snow.

The grass is always greener, eh?

It's a good thing our permissive parenting hasn't resulted in any broken bones, as of yet. I found this old picture today looking for something else and it reminded me of how much fun we had sledding down our stairs in Texas. LOL At least I made my kids put on a helmet. See! I tried to be a good parent. Really!

Mufasa, the Narcissistic Cat...

Hi. My Christian name is Narcissus (hey...wouldn't that be my Greek name?), but they call me Moo...or rather Mufasa, you know, like in "Lion King". Sometimes I'm Poopie, sometimes Poo Poo Head, depending on my behavior. OK, this isn't fun any more...just what the heck IS my name anyway? No wonder I have identity issues.

Where ever my mom goes, I must follow...because I love her so much and have to make sure she knows it, in case she forgot, since the last time I rubbed myself all over her and her things. I think it's kinda funny to torture her and pester her and get my golden, beautiful, glorious, luxurious fur all over her work. I think she loves fabric more than me, therefore, I must passive aggressively pay her back with my "affection". Have a nice day Mama. I know you love me, no matter what you say or do to me. ***wicked Cheshire cat grins***

Yummy Thrifty Loot

I don't buy or find a lot of cool magazines, but this one had a bunch of sweet crochet patterns. There is a small granny square head band pattern I can't wait to make.


Pure, glorious, serendipity. I collect art books because I love art and art history....as in...I REALLY love...super, crazy love art history!!! We use them in our homeschool and having books on hand for various time periods always helps paint a context for history studies. Even if we didn't homeschool, I would still buy them up when I find them. If you ever get tired of looking at the book, you can always rip them up and collage the pages to the wall. :)

My daughter is going to Greece and Rome in May and we had just left a meeting with the woman who is leading the group. We walked into the thrift store and found these massive, perfect, brand new books and had a good laugh. I swear they weigh 40 lbs together. I could do curls with them and have beautiful arms...if I wanted. It was an exciting find. We only paid $1.00 a piece for them.


I saw these two pictures and my heart melted. Aren't they lovely? We are re-doing my daughter's room and she wants them, but if I can talk her into changing her mind, I might put them in my sewing room. I love the frames too. This has got to be one of my most favorite finds lately. Just too sweet! I LOVE SWEET THINGS!

Winter Sunshine

The days are short,
The sun a spark
Hung thin between
The dark and dark.
(by John Updike)




Let's warm up a little, shall we?

First you must open the windows (of your heart) and let the sun light in


Lie on the floor in the sun light and let someone pet you


Or snuggle with someone who loves you


Bundle up and go for a walk with your family...and breathe


Look up and open your eyes. You'll see the beautiful architecture of creation and promises of warmer times, which you can't see during the other seasons in your life




On your walk, look for something lonely, like this summer bench on the beach and comfort it with the warm body heat you've worked up from your walk. :)


Before you go in, look up at the sun with closed eyes and let the sunshine waltz on your face, as you dance in the rays of warmth...like a little child and you don't care how stupid you look or who is watching. :) (These pictures were taken a few days after Christmas when it warmed up a little. Ahhhh...the sweet radiance of children playing...



If you have no sunlight this weekend, you can always stare at a street light and concentrate very hard...it might warm you up.


Make your own SUNSHINE. Choose JOY. Be BLESSED.

***Pictures taken by my daughter***

Feeling Green...

I had a big old jar with nothing in it and my green depression glass cups fit through the hole. :)

Fabric Bits and Pieces

Whatcha been up to?

First let me say, I'm a jerk of an ungrateful friend. I didn't publicly thank Allie for the quilt I won from her. If you want to make a new friend, who is always cheerful and has some neat hand stitchery to share, go over to Allie's at Allie Oops Sweet Happy Life. She's amiable and lovable and I hope we're friends forever.

I'm enjoying this quilt more than I ever thought I could. Mostly because the fabric and colors are so happy of course, but also because it's been a long time since I've allowed myself to purchase a stack of something happy. I think I'm getting bored with scraps. I need to add cheer to my stash a little more often, don't you think?

I draped it over the banister for the picture. Say hello to Mu Mu, the narcissistic cat who had to be in the picture, as always. I love her simple quilting technique and the weight of this quilt is perfect for Florida...not too hot...not too cold.





Next....

Completed "Where the Wild Things Are" baby quilt

I finished binding this baby quilt. I've posted pictures of it before, so you're probably getting tired of seeing it. I love it so much, I can't help myself. I used a brown botanic Thimbleberry fabric for the binding which at a distance could almost read "animal print". I didn't put any animal print in my quilt on purpose, as you won't find any in the book. I only used fabrics with texture, as you'll find in the illustrations within the book.

Oh yea, and my signature trademark piece of "Texas" fabric in the quilt was also added. Not really part of Where the Wild Things are, but it wouldn't be a quilt from me, if Texas wasn't in it. Plus, my friends who get this quilt are from Massachusettes and they call me Tex. LOL Do you have a "trademark" for your work?




I loved this process so much, I can't wait to make another baby quilt out of another children's book. Patricia Polacco is my favorite children's book author. I might try one of her books. Do you have a favorite children's book, with great color and illustrations which would make a nice quilt?

Next....

I've been working on Bonnie's next mystery quilt called Carolina Christmas. It's going a lot faster than her other mysteries and I love the finished pattern. I think it's going to be one of my favorites of hers. She used a yellow/gold as her accent with her reds and greens. I'm using an aqua as my accent. I think it's going to be pretty as our bedroom is Robin's Egg Blue and I didn't really want a red, green and yellow quilt in there. I think aqua, red and green will go better. It's beautiful so far and I can't wait to show you better pictures





Bonnie has a new book out now so go get your copy. Support small business and support Bonnie. She works so hard and has always been generous with her free patterns

Next......

Been thriftn' and looky what I found... First, let me preface by saying, I love, love, love, love ticking. I love old ticking and any new ticking you might see in newer fabric collections. My eyes are always drawn to it and I somehow manage to collect a lot of it without realizing what I'm doing which is FINE BY ME. Check out this old pillow case...oh my gosh, I love it! It's in need of long soaking bath, but it's gonna be gorgeous after it gets it's scrubbing...It will be my new best friend, as soon as I decide what to do with it.




And lastly, I am crazy about my latest vintage sheet. It's a huge, perfect, no fading, no holes...QUEEN. I'm going to use it as a backing for something wonderful. I'll have to add around it to make it a king for my room. Giant husband = giant bed = giant quilts = lots of work...*sigh*

Happy New Year....uhhh...a little late

Hey there folks. Been busy here in Florida trying to keep warm, reading, quilting, cleaning and snuggling.

All our Christmas company (we had 11 people here at one time) went back home to the great state of Texas (without me). Boo hoo. This is my mom with 4 grandchildren. Who is ready to open presents and is sick of taking pictures? LOL



My daughter left for her second semester at college. This is her in the green. She's the oldest grandchild and everyone's right hand girl. Our home doesn't glow nearly as bright when her light is gone.



My husband left to work in Pennsylvania. I'm um....pretty certain he's coming home at the end of this week...Lord willing. :)



My son and I are working hard on his school, and started back to co-op last week.



I've bound 4 quilts, started a new one and my fingers are super sore. Ouch. No, I can't use a thimble. I try, but I can't. "Tex" is what I'm called by the people who will receive this baby quilt. I guess if your going to be called something other than your name, Tex is at least a kind endearment


...But the real reason my poor blog has been abandoned is because I got a Kindle for Christmas and I've read 4 books. Time to put it down and get the house put back together. I still need to put Christmas away. Yikes! Look at my domesticated "shadows". They go every where with me and they think they own the place. They're always invading my body bubble!

Colored Pencil Wraps

I saw this on Pink Chalk Studio a long, long time ago and now you can find the pattern in Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, which I've really enjoyed and recommend to others.

My nephew Hay Hay is getting one and maybe some other children if I'm in the mood to finish them. :) My things to do list is long and time is getting short.

My tip for this pencil roll is to use the walking foot as is suggested. I can't find mine since we moved and I thought I could get by without it. I did, but it doesn't look near as pretty. Hoooo Boy! Hayden won't care, in the end. :)

Robin's Egg Blue Kitchen/Dining Room

We're not quite finished with the decorating but here is a late evening snap shot of the eating area. We were exhausted after painting all day but I was so excited over how it turned out, I had to take a picture before bed. It's a spa blue paint from Home Depot. When I first began with the cut in work, I thought, "oh no...what have I done???...I hate it!"....wishing I had gone yellow or something else for the kitchen. Robin's Egg Blue is my favorite color (it's already in the master bedroom). It works almost as a neutral, as everything seems to go with it, especially browns, yellows and reds...especially reds! Yummy! In this picture, it goes nice with the greens I set out for Christmas.

I need to figure out a Christmas window treatment in the next week. Hummmm...

It turned out so pretty and it's sweet during the day when the sunlight hits it, giving it a peaceful, cozy glow.



I love allowing my inner rebellious child write on the walls of my house. I wrote a quick blessing behind the fridge. Now I have to go and hunt down more secret places to write more messages. LOL It's so much fun.