Sunday, Sunday

My husband and I spent the day with friends at a charitable event to benefit the football team of a college in our old neighborhood. The event included a vintage car show with several vendors and various exhibits. There was quite a turnout and I'm sure the event surpassed everyone's expectations.

We strolled through rows and rows of vintage cars talking with friends and old acquaintances from our high school days. It's amazing what some of these car enthusiasts do to the simplest of details. Some cars even had Coach interiors. My husband and his friends enjoy all things car related and they were into every detail of the car restorations.

After a few hours we became overheated and decided to leave and make the 90 mile trip back home. The forecast for the day was supposed to be 86 degrees, but I'm sure it was much hotter than that. It felt like 110. It was a great Sunday afternoon despite the heat.

When I go to events I always look for inspiration for my crafty creations. Today I noticed that many of the ladies were wearing flowers in their hair, big bright ones. I didn't see any for sale but thought that surely I could make some. So off I go to my sewing room to see what I can sew up. (Check out this site I just found http://rockybella.blogspot.com/2009/07/be-sure-to-wear-some-flowers-in-your.html she has a tutorial to make them.)

Congratulations to the promoters for a job well done!

Fun Filled Day

Here are a few greeting cards and postcards from my stash that I'd like to share. There are a number of different techniques used here. If you are curious about what was used just send me a post and I'll get back to you.

Today three of my grandsons came over to spend the day with me and my husband. We played with water guns and had a blast. So full of energy, they seem to never get tired. We needed a rest so I sat and watched them play video games for a while. I was so amazed at how quick there little hands were at pressing the buttons and at the intelligence level it takes to play those games. There's so much going on at once, I don't know how they keep track of the moves, the pop-ups and the characters. The twins, who are three years old, and their older brother who is four, played one game each against their mother and won her fair and square. She was lost from the start.

After lunch I read them a book and than we watched a movie before they left for home totally exhausted from the excitement, or should I say I was the one exhausted. I'm so grateful for the fun and laughs we had today, it sure made the day go by in a flash. I have to tell you about the biggest laugh we had. At one point, after running around with the kids, my daughter said, "I'm pooped". My four year old grandson looked at her with a puzzled look on his face and said, "Mom -- you pooped yourself"? We all laughed so hard.

The house is quiet now and I thought I'd retreat to my sewing room for an hour or two andwork on some projects.

Pushing Forward

When I started this blog a few weeks ago I thought I'd only be sharing projects and ideas and making contacts with others who had the same passions I had. It never came to mind that grief would interfer in my life and that it would be the only thing on my mind to share. I can't really process much right now so I apologize.

The funeral services for my neice and father-in-law were yesterday; and today I'm still feeling lost. Not much in my mind to share. Losing her at only 30 years old has brought such sadness to our family. Our faith is strong and we know she is with our lord but, boy do we miss her.

On Wednesday night I made this embroidered pillow for her mother to keep in memory of her. It was a small thing in comparison to the grief she is suffering.

Thank you all for your condolences. I really do appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Do What You Love

One never knows what life has in store for us. I woke up this morning reflecting on the past few weeks. I've enoyed time with family, started my blog and made many new friends, I've had time to sew and get together with friends, spent time completing things on my to do list, just going about my days in a leisurely fashion. I've been doing what I love and enjoying it.

I can say I have no regrets, I try to make each day special and always take a few minutes for myself and for my hobbies to keep me balanced. After the sad news we received yesterday it was difficult to get through the day. We were all feeling numb with grief. The day was filled with phone calls and disbelief. At bedtime I couldn't sleep so I went to my sewing room and worked on the wall hanging (one of the projects for the Charming Girls Club) and on an embroidery project to keep my mind off the sadness. Around 2am I couldn't keep my eyes open and finally went to bed.

Well, I won't go on and on, 'but I was glad I had this outlet to share my thoughts. Do What You Love and appreciate the small things in life.

Blog Trouble

My blog is suddenly experiencing some difficulty. My Giveaway List and the Blogs I follow are not showing up.

I'm trying to figue out how to fix it. If you are visiting and can help please leave me a post. Since I'm new to blogging, I'm going to have to do a bit of research. Unfortunately, today we lost a dear niece on by husband's side from a sudden illness who was only in her early 30's. I won't have much time in the next few days available, so if you can help I sure would appreciate it.

Have a blessed day!

Taking It Easy

Well it's Sunday and we're all just taking it easy.

My class on Saturday went well and it was so much fun. I met so many nice ladies. We worked on an embroidery project putting together several designs, lining them up so that they make one picture. Here's a photo of what I was able to accomplish.

Of course I couldn't leave without purchasing a number of things. I bought four books 2 on Embroidery Machine Essentials that have several quilt patterns and a CD with a number of designs. I can't wait to try them. I also purchased two books on patterns and projects using your serger. There's one pattern of a scarf that is so unique that I plan to make.

Here's a few photos of the Vintage Bag I completed for the Charm Girls Quilt Club.

Have a great Sunday afternoon!!

TGIF

I'm so excited for Saturday to come. I'll be attending a class to learn some techniques for using my new Janome embroidery machine. I have so many plans and ideas for embroidered projects. They have some great pros at the sewing center and I'm going to learn all I can from them. I just purchased the machine in June and have done a few project but I really need help on positioning the item properly so that my designs come out just as I want them. Placement is key for a professional looking job. For this newbee, there is so much to learn, the software, digitizing, stabilizers, etc.

Last night I finished the Vintage Cosmetic Bag (I'll post a picture next week). Oh and fabulous job club members on all the projects you're working on. The one's I've had the time to see are fantastic. The purse from http://www.ouvragesduneacadienne.blogspot.com/ is one of my favorites.

One more thing, check out my sidebar; there's a list of quite a few giveaways for this month from some very generous bloggers. Do check out their sites, I'm sure they'll appreciate your visit.

You all have a great weekend!

More progress on the Vintage Cosmetic Bag

The quilting is done. After lunch yesterday I was able to fit in an hour of sewing on this project. Here's a photo of the pieces. I need to go out today and buy the bias tape or maybe I'll make my own to match the fabric.

Having the summer off from work is fabulous. Being able to do the things I enjoy on a daily basis is so much fun. I hope you're all enjoying this as much as I am.

Ah..Progress on the Vintage Cosmetic Bag

I've been busy. The pattern has been reproduced, the pieces have been cut out and now I have to quilt them before they can be assembled. Here's a few pictures of my work in progress. I just hope it all comes together well. Joining the club, has got me focused on sewing. I love it!!

Anticipation....

Excitement is what I'm feeling waiting for a package from Julies Open Window http://juliesopenwindow.blogspot.com/. Over the 4th of July weekend I won the drawing for her Blog Candy giveaway. Julie has a lovely site and just openned her Etsy Store with lovely cards for sale. Thanks Julie, my anticipation of receiving your package is killing me!!

What Fun!! Join the Club

This is going to be so much fun. Visit http://cottoncharmquilts.typepad.com/charmingchatter/ to view the details. It's really simple, and it will give you that push we sometimes need to get those projects done while having fun. And, best of all -- viewing all the finished projects and the creativity of others.

I was referred to this site by http://quiltymama.blogspot.com/ who's always up on the latest and greatest ideas.

So here are the few projects I'm posting to get done. The first is a vintage cosmetic bag I found at a vintage store and would like to recreate. It's home sewn by machine and has a few compartments inside. I'll need to recreate the pattern (there's about six pieces). The second is a denim and scrap quilt I'm making for my grandson. I still need to make it a bit larger, add the batting and bind it.

Third project is a wall hanging and lastly a couple of blouses I'd like to whip out (ha ha). Bye for now, I'm off to sew, sew, sew.

Fun Summer Hat Pattern

I came across these two cards I made several years ago. The hat pattern would be great to make a summer hat for a garden party invitation or similar get together or just a thinking of you greeting.

Inside the card I used an explosion type fold which helped to hold it together nicely (see photo). Here's the pattern for those of you who might want to give it a try. If you do please send me your photo. I'd love to see how others would design their hat.

Spool Sewing
Check out this site. They have a great apron pattern and a few other patterns that look like they'd be fun to make.