Jack Frost stops by....

My sleep patterns are all over the map, so again last night I found myself awake 3 or 4 times. Not stumblin' around tryin to get to the bathroom and back in the bed before you can focus, but wide awake and no prospects of snoozin anytime soon kind of awake. This translates to house-wandering in my case, and so I had occasion to look outside again, and again the moon glowing on the frozen yard called to me.

Cruisin past the thermostat, I noticed that it was 26...Brrrrrrrrr!
When I finally got up this morning, I ran outside to take this picture before the sun peeked over the hill onto the lawn. See the frost?


I thought I'd put up some pictures of what I'm working on. I have 2 peasant skirts cut out as gifts for some special young women. These are the tiers for Melissa's skirt. The big white flowers will be the fitted part of the skirt and then there will be two tiers of 3 fabrics. Cool, huh?


These are the tiers for Ashley's skirt. Hers are all earthy colors and feature fabrics from Fresh Cut...I love that line. Melissa's are from Urban Chicks.



They won't be able to wear them til next spring, but I needed to get them done and out of the way so I can get back to quilting.

I have two "snakes" quilts pin basted and ready for quilting. I'm putting a picture up of one of them. Love that pattern and thank you Denyse Schmidt for the fabrics, the pattern and your creativity.


At some point I will get them quilted and uploaded to my ETSY shop, Tenderoni Quilts.


There are two quilts in progress that are really begging for attention and that is where I am headed. I just need to clear some of this other stuff so that I can free up head-space enough to pay proper attention to the design challenges they each present.

Too many quilts not enough time? That's the dilemma.

Back in 2 shakes....

The Frost is on the Punkin...

I woke up this morning early....looked outside to see everything aglow in white in the night's darkness. The stars gave light to the landscape, and bundling up in a shawl over my gown I slipped out onto the front porch to see if it was snow......and saw that jack frost had paid us a visit in the night. A peek at the thermostat showed that it was 27 degrees outside. Brrrrrrrr........

I promptly returned to bed for that kind of delicious sleep that you get when you know you should be up, but can't think of a reason why. Two hours later, with the sun peeking over the hill, I got up for good.

Yesterday afternoon I made a huge pot of Italian Wedding Soup ~ my first time ever ~ and all from scratch! That is what I had for breakfast today. Looking out over the back pasture, still in the shadow of the hill and fully frostified, the soup tasted warmer and better than I had hoped. What a good thing!

I haven't been to one of those 12 step meetings in a while, so I'm off to town.

Back in 2 shakes!

This was fun....you wanna try it?

Ta-daaaaa!!! Presenting 1945.......



Deb from Red Shoe Ramblings, mentioned this on her blog and I thought it was cool.
Here's what she said........"The idea is that you go to Google Images and type in the year you were born, then select some images that give a sense of what that year was like."







.



I was born May 24, 1945
By the time labor day had passed, the war was over. I was fat and happy and nearly 4 months old.....some things never change, except that I'm older now.

If you try this, send me a link! I wanna see what it was like the year you were born.

Sunny and chilly today...

No rain on the horizon and things may have a chance to dry out as the sun is in the forecast for the next few days. I may yet get a chance to get that last mowing in.

The couch is here! Yep, sitting in the living room looking all gorgeous and begging to be sat upon. That will come later this evening as I've been here at the computer for the past couple of hours. There are a few yahoo groups I read and a bunch of blogs and then there are the sites with free quilting patterns that beg to be printed out. The checkbook needed balancing too. Where did the day go?

I got up late..............it was chilly in the house this morning, as I'm trying to get used to having the thermostat set at 63-65, so the bed was feeling especially cozy and I was dreading that chill that was waiting to greet me when I threw off the comforter...brrrrr. Once up, showered and dressed, I was off to the last day of the Farmer's Market this season. I had vendors to visit and goodbyes to say. Some of them I see weekly and it feels like they are old friends now. Today's score ~

* A gift of a pair of earrings and some hand made notecards from Erin who photographed the produce that she and her husband grow on their farm. The earrings are sterling silver with red coral dangles...very cool.

* I also bought a bag of baby new potatoes from them.

* A pound of country sausage from the pork guy, and a ham roast too! I see some special soup coming from that.

* The silver jeweler, Karl from Trade, Tennessee had made a star of David and an Om symbol for me and I picked those up. His work is incredibly delicate and he has made other pieces for me as well.

Tomorrow is an at home sewing day. I haven't done much this week and it's calling me.

A few of my favorite things ~

* Special memories of my time in Mexico and the friends I made there. Keeping them in the present through phone calls and photos. Talked to Marlene and Chris this week who are just arriving there this past week for the season.
* Fabric designers who not only create the fabrics that catch my eye and spark my imagination, but who give of themselves on their blogs so I can have a peek at what their lives are like and what sparks their imagination ~ like her, and her, and her.....gotta love them!
* Chilly, sunny, breezy days and cold nights

And you!

bye for now, later gator, adios and hasta luego!

Pajamas Wednesday ~ It's a good thing!

Today is quilty day with the girls at The Quilt Shop. It's also another rainy day and a darn good day for flannel pajama pants and a T shirt to match..........(and some undergarments)........so that is how I went into town today.

It was a busy day at the shop and there were a bunch of us there. Everyone had their projects in full swing and I spent the day cutting out another skirt. And visiting. And eating lunch. And kibbitzing.

I ran over to the store and paid for my new couch and told them when the rains let up (maybe Saturday?) I'll be back to get it. Because they sold the floor sample I wanted, after telling me it was against their policy to do so, and because I went in to speak to the manager about how unhappy I was about that, I got the couch at 20% off the sales price. Seemed reasonable to me.

Here it is, whaddaya think?

The major reason for this couch is that it can be wiped off. Maya has a tendency to lean on the furniture, the wall, anything and because she also has a tendency to roll around in the dirt....well, you can guess the rest.

Come to think of it, Maya was the reason for my choice in the new car. I'm glad that I can can keep her in the lifestyle she has become accustomed to. LOL

Even though it's rainy and gray outside..........it's sunny inside, and I hope it is for you too.

Color in the High Country

This is a shot of the gathering out in Valle Crucis last weekend where they were celebrating their annual Country Fair. I was having the yard sale and missed it, but have heard so much about it that I won't miss it next year if I'm able to go. It is supposed to have just the best of local arts and crafts, in addition to cider-making, apple butter production, bluegrass music and an all round good time. I loved this picture because it captures how the trees look right now. In a week or so I guess most of the leaves will be on the ground, but right now they are so colorful it takes my breath away.

No sewing today as I had some errands to run in town. I nearly missed the turn off getting home because the fog rolled in with a vengeance and traffic slowed to a crawl although not slow enough for me to be able to see the signs well. Luckily I caught a glimpse of the signpost on the right announcing the upcoming left turn and was able to get into the turn lane. Whew!

Maya, who used to hate to get in the car, now thinks that every time I leave, she should be with me. During the summer, I left her at home because it was too hot in the car. Now I take her most times, and she is happy to go ~ does the happy dance and jumps up into the car without much prompting at all. I keep the back window down about a third of the way so that her nose can surf the local smells and when we get back on our road, I stop and let her out so she can race me to the house. I clocked her at about 20mph for a stretch, she can really move.

These are a few of my favorite things....
Favorite smells:
* Baby powder
* Jergen's body lotion (smells like almonds)
* Christmas trees
* Spilled gasoline (I know, weird huh?)
* Newly mowed hay
* Freshly shampooed hair

Ta-ta!

Another Finish...

Just finished sewing the binding on this little gem tonight and uploaded it to my ETSY shop.

Glad to have gotten it to the finished stage so that I can work on some other projects. I started work on Melissa's peasant skirt yesterday and worked on it for a few hours today. It's going to be so cool. Tomorrow I'm going to cut out Ashley's skirt and get it off the ground. Hope to get them both done this week. I'll post pictures when they're finished. I love the fabrics ~ Melissa's is from the Urban Chicks line, and Ashley's is from Fresh Cut.

I keep thinking that the last time I mowed the yard was the last time I'd mow for this season, but the grass continues to grow and I think there's one more mowing that needs doing....dang! LOL But that brings me to a new feature.

These are a few of my favorite things...(sing along...lol)
* I love the smell of freshly cut grass
* I love the changing colors of the leaves and the slash of red against the green hills I see when I drive into town
* I love homemade soup and love that I'm becoming really good at making it.
* I love mah dawg, but you already knew that didn't you?
(there she is laying on the yellow line in the middle of her road.)

Blessings.

The sun came out....

See the shadows? It came out and while the wind joined it to make for a chilly morning until the sun managed to peek over the ridge, there was no rain...yay!!!

Morning started before dark-thirty, while I was still stumbling around...y'all know I'm not a morning person...Barb showed up and Maya let me know there was a prowler ~ good dog!

I made coffee, got dressed and then went up to the main road to post our signs while Barb started pulling stuff out of the shed. We were ready for business on time.....waiting....waiting...waiting.

We had a few. Made a few bucks. I bought Barb's stuff, she bought mine...LOL. We also let some other folks buy some stuff too, but my big ticket items didn't sell even though they were priced to move. We had fun though, and decided we'd put the stuff up and try again in the spring when Barb's sister Betty has her annual yard sale in Blowing Rock and draws an huge crowd.

I took pics of a couple of things (big) that I don't want to trip over in the shed all winter and have listed them on Craigslist. I think the sofa has sold ~ the guy is coming back Wednesday with a truck and $$.

Tonight is girl's night out at the quilt shop and I'm pooped, but am going to hang out with the girls and who knows, I might get some sewing in too.

Gratitude list for today....
* Maya is such a great watch dog....I am able to live out here in the country 'cause I feel totally safe knowing she's on her job.
* Barb is so darn funny.....gosh I'm enjoying getting to know her. She cracks me up!
* The sun ......... oh how I love the sun.

later, 'gator!

Rain, Rain, go away......(just for a day)....

Tomorrow is the big yard sale. My friend Barb and I are offloading all those things that are not fitting into our lives here in NC. She just moved to this area a few months ago, and I moved a little over a year ago and we both realize we got "stuff" that just isn't working for us. Most of it is new or nearly new, and all of it is divine!

This is the view from my home in one direction ...... toward the dead end ..... rain!

The ads have been published, the signs made, and the stuff catalogued and stored in the shed awaiting display......but.....the weather isn't cooperating! The forecast says that tomorrow will be sunny and clear, and I'm hoping that will be true and that the road will be packed with happy shoppers who have cash in hand.

This is the view from my home in the other direction ... the direction that all those happy shoppers will be coming from.

I've been hand-stitching on some binding this week, and haven't done much else in the quilterly area. My focus has been getting ready for the yard sale, and doing some last minute little projects here in the house. Once that's over I need to shift gears for a minute and do some sewing in another direction. I want to make some aprons, and I have two skirts that need to be made. The fabric for all of them has been selected and the patterns purchased, so I just need to get in motion.

Gratitude List ~
* The view from my windows no matter the season.
* My desire to create is strong and I have the energy to bring it to life.
* I continue to be grateful for my friends.

Easy does it!

Little Rant....

Okay, so maybe it is too early to bid adieu to the sofa.

I listed it on Craigslist yesterday and got 5 quick inquiries.....however, I suspect that all the interested parties are anxious to send me a cashier's check and that most of them live in Greater Berzerkistan given their grammer selections. "I will like you for tell me the exact condition of this article" was the recurring theme of all 5 of the inquiries. **sigh** I'm expecting to have these inquiries followed up with a surprise announcement that I am the only living heir to a fortune somewhere over there that only requires my banking information in order to collect it.

note: I'm not holding my breath, and I already told ya mamma my banking information....NOT!

Blogspot is having some problems today and I'm not able to upload photos....I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

smooches!

Quickie!

First of all....this will be short....so don't take it personally, k?

Say goodbye to this couch. Byeeeeeeee!
It is only a year old....good couch, but I didn't really like it when I bought it, and that shoulda been reason enough not to buy it, but nah, I got it anyway.

Looks dirty in this picture, but it's just the light or something, cause it's not dirty. Anyway it's leaving.

Now, I'm having the yard sale this weekend and I'm listing this on Craigslist today, cause it's got to go. Byeeeee!

Gratitude list:
* I'm grateful for the generosity of a friend who could forgive me.
* I'm grateful that I can let go.........of stuff, of old behavior, of the need to be right.
* I'm grateful that I know that school is always in session.

And I'm grateful for those of you who take a look here and let me know you looked.

Oh and one more....
I'm grateful for cousin Nathan's wife Jean's killer cranberry jalapeno relish.........mmm, mmmm, mmmmmmmmm!

This is a picture of the cabinet in my studio that has a part of my stash displayed...neatly...by color. Looks like it's organized and not outta control in terms of size, doesn't it?

Looks are deceiving.

That table in front of the cabinet is where I cut, pin baste, try out fabrics for a project, mark pieces for applique and so on. What you don't see is that the table has a skirt around it and under that skirt (and between the table and the wall) are a bazillion little rubbermaid boxes and totes housing works in progress, fabrics pulled for projects that live in my head, and stuff I am hiding even from myself....LOL. You know you have a problem when you sneak fabric into the house and you live alone.
Uh huh...

Okay, moving right along....that little confession is just a way of letting me know that I know, and now you know too. Just keepin it real.

Today's gratitudes:
* warm sun on my face this morning and a slightly cool breeze, not bone shattering cold, just cool.
* new lawn mower is the bomb, and made mowing a pleasure...it mulches so I didn't need to rake afterwards....and it took care of all the leaves too, so no blower was necessary.
* remembering my mom's chili and that my attempts at it today came pretty darn close, and it was all good.
* peace and ease.

I was sad to hear today that my cousin Nathan, wife Jean and the boys will not be at the Thanksgiving gathering this year....they are going to be with Jean's family. I have enjoyed their boys Jack and Adam, and last year Jean absolutely killed with this great cranberry-jalapeno relish that she made. I'm gonna miss that, but am going to try to convince her that if I can't see her on Thanksgiving, at least I should be able to see her relish.......do you think it will work?
I'm gonna try it anyway.

Flu shot tomorrow.........missed getting one last year and was anxious all season because of it. I'd rather get the shot and skip the anxiety about whether or not I'll get the flu. I've been remarkably healthy this past couple of years....not even a cold, so I just wanna continue that. I have a mammogram scheduled for Wednesday morning and a chest xray too, to check out this little troublesome cough that is probably just a side effect of one of my meds...they said it probably is, but I want to check it out. I can't believe how responsible and adult I'm being...LOL.

Here's to your good health too.

Bean Soup!!! YUMMMMMMMMMMMM

Today was just the perfect day! I love Autumn...it has always been my favorite season. Something about the change and transition from the heat and abundance in summer to the spare and cold landscape of winter...all the trees showing off with that last burst of energy before dropping their leaves ~ that riot of color combined with the chilly nights and crisp, sunny days....**heaven**!!

Today was no exception. I needed cords and a sweatshirt to make my pilgrimage to the farmer's market this morning. I scored 2 pounds of the sweetest little baby crookneck squash, some fresh carrots, one cranberry/pecan scone, a pair of earrings made by my friend Erin who is just soooo talented in a ga-zillion ways. Today she had throw pillows made from New York Beauty quilt blocks, some home made journals covered in some retro cloth, sterling silver and bead earrings, and some home made note cards featuring photos of the produce that she and her husband grow on their farm. All of it presented in such a lovely way that made you want to take all of it home.

Before getting out of here today, though, I was reminded that the earth has shifted in it's journey around the sun and my house is more in the shadows than before....so my windshield was encased in ice and I had to scrape!! Yep....winter is just around the corner and jack frost paid me a little visit last night to remind me of that.

I cooked some turkey legs in the slow cooker over night and woke to the smell of Thanksgiving in my house this morning...lol. Before I left for the market, I put a pot of navy beans on...quick boil and then set them aside to rest. When I got back from the market did a quick chop of garlic, sweet vidalia onions, celery and did a quick saute in olive oil. Put them into the pot with the beans and started them up again to boil, then simmer all afternoon. Added in the shredded smoked turkey and it was on! Yum.....can you say Yum? YUMMMMMM.......gonna save some in ziplocs in the freezer for those chilly days when nothing but a good hearty soup will do.

That little quilt up there has some Laura Burch "cats" fabric in it and I call it "here, kitty kitty".
Gonna upload it to my Etsy store. Go check it out.

Gratitudes:
* I'm still sober. What doesn't kill ya, just makes ya stronger and Lord knows I got some "life on life's terms" stuff goin on, but I'm still here.
* I can laugh in the face of adversity and I know it's all gonna work out.
* My good friends are my good friends, and no amount of Gold would I trade for them.
* The "Italian Job" was on TV tonight....I love that movie and those little mini-cooper cars.
(My Sista-Woman friend, Syl, is gonna buy one of them....she would be divine in one!)

I noticed that Raquel "The Ghetto Quilter" has me listed on her links list! That is soooooooooooooo cool and I'm so honored to make her list, cause I think she's just the best. I love reading about her and her kids (she is getting ready to add yet one more to her brood and she's a way young mom. Check her out.

That's it for me. Thanks for checking me out.

Trying to get back in the groove...

I'm still not "with it" and yet I feel like I had such a good groove going before I got sidetracked that I want to try to keep on.

They say that for any new behavior to become instilled you need to do it 16 (20, 30 ???) times consistently...........and I've not been able to do that yet. So, I'll keep at it.


Gratitudes:
* I still have health insurance
* Things seem to work out without my manipulations....so why wouldn't this set of circumstances as well?
* Blogs by those quilters and crafters and crazy moms that I have listed here just continue to juice me! (check out my list of links...then go look at them)

This little red, white, and blue number is not so much patriotic as it is showing off the collection of indigo blues that I've collected. I love indigo blues, especially those hand-dyed by african women of the Hausa tribe in northern Nigeria. I love their cloth and use it sparingly because I don't know when I'll be able to find more.

It has turned cold. Brrrrrrrrr.....get your flannel jammies out kinda cold and I had to turn on the heat last night. This weekend it promises to get up to 70, so I will do the seasonal stuff I need to do to get ready for winter.....put covers over the A/C's, mulch the flower beds, do one last mowing, put the water hoses away for winter, and put the lawn furniture under wraps. Time to put away the summer clothes and break out the winter ones.

I just put together my new mulching mower, so am looking forward to that last mowing of the season with the new mower. I'm impressed that I got it together without help ~ it was a bugger to do. Go Me!

I'm still stacking stuff in the shed in preparation for our yard sale a week from tomorrow. I hope the weather holds....though the extended forecast predicts 60% probability of showers....I don't hold much faith in that, so we'll see!

Keep a good thought and your fingers crossed....

I dunno if this little quilt has been shown before, but I can't post without some picture up for you to look at. I love the yellow and teal together, don't you?

My homegirl has gone back to Cali ***sigh*** it was all too short this little visit.

We had a great time at the Storytelling festival. I love that people can just stand up in front of hundreds of pairs of watchful eyes and tell a story that will have you in stitches. Too funny........and wild!

Jonesborough is a beautiful little town in Western Tennessee.........and the first settled town in that state. In addition to this festival which draws "tellers" from all around the globe, it also draws thousands of attendees.

One of the draws for me was that Jonesborough is the home of Tennessee Quilts, one of the coolest shops I've ever been in. I've ordered from them online before so I was anxious to see this shop. It was just across the street from the Visitor's Center where you register for the festival, so it wasn't hard to find. I waited til the last day of the festival to pay it a visit. I picked up some fat quarters, a pattern for an apron, and some Kaffe Fasset turquoise shot cotton yardage that was on back order at my local quilt shop here in Boone.

I need to get back into my normal routine...I feel disconnected in some ways. House needs cleaning, laundry needs doing, and I haven't sewn in over a week. Yikes! Better get busy.

Tuesday got lost along the way...

I dunno what happened to it, it was just here and now it's Wednesday!

I'm driving to Charlotte to pick up my homegirl this afternoon.....the route takes me right past Gastonia the home of Mary Jo's. Does that mean I'm going to make a pit stop? I don't know, we'll see. It's not like I need more fabric...lol.

This little eye candy is a silkscreen print of a Huichol Shaman's vision of the sun and moon. A friend of mine in Mexico makes them and made me some on woven cotton. I have several different ones and have made two quilts already and have enough squares left for one more.


















I love the stories that go with them too~the one in turquoise is about how woman came to be with man and how she disguised herself as dog to leave tortillas for him in his cave. All of these designs came to be created after taking Peyote......I'm amazed that they were able to create anything........I'd have been looking for some twinkies and a place to lay down.

I might not be on much for the next few days.....but will check in once or twice. You have big fun too!

This quilt is from the"Poetry" collection by April Cornell for Moda. At one time I think I had pieces from every design in that collection and made a bunch of baby quilts from them. I loved them even though I'm not really much of a fan for florals or pastels either. Go figure. This collection was all about both. LOL

I took this picture when I was straightening up my studio in preparation for company coming!!! I'm soooo excited.

My good friend and Illinois home-girl, MaryHelen is coming from California on Wednesday......Waaaa-Hooooooooo! We're going to the International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN next weekend. She's been before, but it will be a first for me. I can't wait to see her.

So, in addition to straightening up the studio, I cleaned up with guest room/office, ran errands in town, got a pedicure today, and visited the post office. I sent off those 6 blocks I made for the Leukemia Quilts in France to Clare. I've never mailed anything to France before. I feel very "continental". LOL