Two in One Day! (Wait, that doesn't sound quite right!) LOL

Ahem.

Just saw the dangedest, cutest way to hold and display bobbins!

Kathleen of My World

http://myworld-kath.blogspot.com/

is so stinkin' clever and romantic that I am...

can't wait to get out our goblets!

Tee hee!

A Give Away Blog Spotlight, New Skin and Holidays!

A really cool day is shaping up for us all!

First off:  a give away link and awesome blog I just found!

This is Andi and I love her smile and happiness here!  View her blog here:

http://bigredwedding.blogspot.com/

to see why she's smiling, and here: 

http://patchandi.blogspot.com/2009/10/happy-blogiversary-to-me-and-something.html

to see why you (or me!) might be smiling.  She's having a give away of a personalized, reversible bag in colors of the winner's choice.  You can read about the give away and then take a view through her incredible blog for happy, inspirational ideas and quilts.

This is one of my favorites, even though it probably doesn't exist now!  See her blog and you'll know why!

Onward and upward.

Allow me to introduce you to Squishy.  First off, Squishy is a "he" no matter what hubby says about the matter.  LOL

Here Squish wanted to pose with his new favorite quilt that he met on our end of summer vacation trip at the hotel.  Squish has been with me since...well...as long as I can remember.  Here he's modelling a somewhat old, tired, faded and wornout lace pillowcase  he once looked fabulous and "oh so shabby chic" in.

Unfortunately, being the lovey of a 40+ year old woman throughout her living memories has put some wear and tear on the old boy.

Squish began his life way back as a pillow.  School days, college, honeymoon, marriage, numerous trips to the hospital while I was giving birth or sick, family vacations, get-away vacations, plane rides and long car rides do tend to get the better of one, don't they?

Now, before the whole dust mite thing grosses you out, he gets washed regularly (or frozen or air dried outside) and reclothed with a fresh new pillowcase as soon his current one wears out.  The last two incarnations of him were lived in pillowcases my great-grandmother had embroidered and my mom gave to me.  We know he needs a new "skin" when he starts losing bits and pieces of himself in the bed covers or on the floor next to the bed.  I sleep with him every night, and he doesn't snore!

Hubby started tenderly laying bits and pieces on my bedside table last week.  Squish has felt a bit neglected since the quilting bug has hit and said bedside table is sporting a new catch-all mat.

So, he politely asked to have something different...out of the ordinary...unique to reside in that reflects our history together and the quirkiness of our relationship.

The new and improved Squishy!

I started piecing from the middle out with fabrics that made me smile, happy and cheerful at the thought of using them every day!  Lots of my favorites in there.  Squish, knowing the almost total lack of pink in my life, is not one of those males who is afraid pink might hurt his masculinity...and allowed me free reign on the color in exchange for me not saying anything about his lumpy middle and the need for a roomy pillowcase.  Ahem. 

I was afraid all the seams would prove a bit bumpy and leave huge imprints on my face, but never fear, the backside is a soft, white flannel and I slept like a dream last night!

Today and tomorrow we're on Fall Break!  Sort of.  Kind of.  Middlest helped me move furniture around yesterday so my sewing obsession could come inside.  So, a little catch up for him today and science class this pm at our local middle school and tomorrow is an all day field trip for him.  So just Javi, Bean and I on Friday.  What loads of no good can we get up to in just two, short days?

Stay tuned!

This Is The Day!

...that we've been given.  Full of promise.  Full of hope.  What will we do with it?

 

I wake up every morning with a list of things about a mile and a half long that I know I have to do...should do...would like to do.  I've angsted over them the night before and they fell asleep with me closer than even hubby can snuggle on a cold, fall evening. 

But, most of the time, the day takes me where it wants me to go, and not the other way around.  And for that, I'm thankful.  I learn new things.  Meet new people.  Ask new questions.  Fall down.  Get back up.  Fall down.  Get back up.

The responses from you all amazed and encouraged me.  You lifted me up after my falls...because all I had to do was remember your kindnesses when I was feeling a little lost, or neglected or needy.  And the day got brighter.  So on a post where I was hoping to challenge and encourage myself and others, a tremendous blessing was gifted to me.  You.  Your hearts.  Your souls shining through the dark forest. 

Thank you!  One little corner of the world beamed a little bit brighter!

Things I'd like to share back:

http://thedottydline.blogspot.com/

You need to read Dotty's profile.  She is an amazing woman! 

And this:

is my part of this week's Sew and Tell for Friday Finishes at Amy's blog. 

http://www.amylouwho.com/

Hubby's old building has lots of "treasure" in it.  This is an old, walnut book case way in the back, upstairs, lost in an empty room.  Lonely.  Left.  Unloved.  Unused.  Until....

the boys carried it off in a huge truck and brought it to our house to live!  Hooray!  On top are color coded flower buckets for my scraps from the Sweet Pea Sonata quilt.  The old, wire paper basket was also found at the building and cleaned up.  Now it holds a jelly roll and some yardage for a quilt that's yet to tell me what it wants to be.  A cd/radio player for music and the much needed talk radio.  LOL

My growing collection of quilt books and magazines.  An old, wire post office basket (I have this thing for old things that can be repurposed!) with more yardage that's too yummy to keep stuffed in a box.  And, don't laugh (well, you can laugh if it makes you happier!), but Wal Mart has these awesome stackable cubes that are see through plastic with little holes.  I can see my "babies" and ogle them lovingly every time I look at the book case.  Mostly fat quarters and some snippets here and there.

We have a three season sunroom that does triple duty as playroom, sewing room and get away from it all room.  Windows on three sides let in lots of sunlight and I can see the kids playing in the backyard.  I can also watch squirrels, chipmunks, hummingbirds, other birds, butterflies and whatever else happens to wander into the garden.  Most days I'm there with a kid or two who wants to be where Mom is.  I love that!

Woke up yesterday morning and it was 44 degrees outside.  Which meant the unheated sunroom was about 50.  LOL  Soooooo, yesterday was spent bringing a lot of my sewing stuff inside to the den.  Which is now Mom's sewing room until spring.

Hoping to finish the move and clean up in time for Amy's Friday Finish and in the meantime, I'm working on some new "skin" for an old friend.

Blessings! 

Who Is My Neighbor?

It seems, while reading my blog list, that a lot of us are feeling stressed, depressed, anxious, behind in our to do lists...with loved ones near and far who are needing healing and help. 

When I look around my world, it seems a little colder than it was.  A little less friendlier.  Less willing to look someone, a stranger, in the eyes and just smile.  Saying "Hello" is almost a thing of the past as you pass someone, anyone, everyone on the street.  News stories filled with how negligent the human race is becoming.  How we have lost value in each other's eyes.  Need is a shameful thing.  Even needing a smile is a sign of weakness.

So, Sunday, I was reading the Master.  How we are to treat our nieghbors.  Who our neighbors are.  What a neighbor truly is. 

We are to act totally without selfishness.  Our neighbor is whomever needs mercy.  A neighbor is the one who shows mercy.

So, my assignment for the week (and one I hope you share with me) is to work at having a servant's heart, and not a heart consumed only by my desires and needs.  To look people in the eye at the drive-thru or check-out line and see them as people who might need mercy.  To stop my hamsterwheel driven, smallthings minded thinking...and reach out.  With a smile.  With encouragement.  Leave a note on someone's blog that is uplifting and kind.  Take a deep breath and give just that much more when I'm at the end of my rope and ready to jump.  To put self last.  To love above all.

Won't you join me?  Couldn't we change our corner of the world for the better even for just one day, one week, a season...a lifetime?  Wouldn't that be worth it!

 

Humpty....Isaac??

Received an email from my mom this morning...she sent it yesterday late.  It seems our little "Humpty Dumpty" is sewn back together again.  I didn't share about how Baby Isaac had only one spot on his while entire 7 lb 14 oz body that could be touched.  Tubes, probes and wires everywhere...plus a chest cavity left open until last night.  Whew!  As of today, all is well and we're waiting for the next update with thankful hearts.

Bill Gates and I think a lot alike here...

This came through my email today.  It seems he recently gave a speech at a high school on the 11 things not learned and not taught in school these days.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!


Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up,it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
 
Oh my.  Mr. Gates has obviously had our house bugged for years and I now wonder if we're able to collect royalty fees for all these great words of wisdom.  LOL  I'll share them with my wonderful family and friends...a vacation to Fiji!
 

Beautiful Fall Day

Well, our family woke up to 35 degrees outside this morning and it's the coldest it's been in the house since spring!  But, the sun is shining, and we're hoping the weather holds for a trip south with friends on Saturday to enjoy the colors and company.

Maybe a trip to a quilt or fabric shop while we're there?

Mini quilt finished.  "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".  Lucy Vodden, who was the inspiration for the Beatles' song of the same name died this week after a long fight with Lupus.  When I started this block (before the real Lucy died) and joined it with another, this was the name I immediately thought of.  When I showed the two blocks joined to hubby, he also thought of this song.  In looking at the pictures, this sure doesn't look square, but it is.  LOL

So out of tribute to Lucy Vodden:

Blessings.