I'm Alive!

...and I have begun to sew again!  Slow progress but somehow...weekend chores seem to interfere just a bit.

It's been a rough school year health-wise for me... first there was pneumonia in October, followed immediately by 6 weeks out for a fractured thumb and five fractured ribs.  And next up....  The Flu!

Yes, despite a flu shot, The Flu caught me this past week and knocked me for a loop.   I'm better but the recovery is slow.   My daughter-in-law named this stage of the flu process as Perma-cold....  which is an excellent description.

Hot tea has been my close friend this past week and, indeed, it's helped a lot.... just wish this stuff would go away and stay away.    I do think I've had my share of bad luck this school year...  maybe I'll be healthy the rest of the year!

Digression (otherwise known as "heading down a rabbit trail"):   Way last fall when I was stuck at home with the rib fractures and wasn't in good enough shape to watch a move, TV, or read, my daughter suggested Farmville2 on Facebook.  Both granddaughters were playing so I thought I'd give it a try.  After all, if a third grader and a first grader could play.... surely I could figure it out!

I have to say it it was perfect for the short spans of attention I could give it and, with the assistance of my 7-yr-old granddaughter who taught me all her tricks, I kinda got good at Farmville2.    

Next, family members started playing to "help Emma and Chloe" progress faster....

...and before you knew it... Farmville2 was an out-and-out competition among the older family members!    *lol* 

See?  I'm at Level 37... my daughter and one sister are at Level 35, and my baby sister is at Level 34!    

Farmville2 has been good for me while I've been down and.... it's been good for us, as a widely dispersed family, to be able to have an on-going game in which we all participate.  Of course, family members who are not playing have to give us a hard time and send us photos such as this one...

 

Getting inventive....

 
I didn't want to put a hanging sleeve on the L.O.V.E mini quilt and had forgotten about putting the corners under the binding and using a chopstick....   so, I make a "rod" from a clothes hanger and sewed four "belt loops" on the back for the rod.   

I tied a ribbon to the loops in the rod.... and it works pretty well....  and the wire thingie can be removed to wash the mini.

Whoooo Loves You?

Made with construction paper and empty toilet paper rolls, and filled with Hershey's Kisses, these owls are for my granddaughters for Valentine's Day.

The girls went to the Celebrity Dairy in Chatham County, NC last weekend for a tour and got to hold baby goats.

They weren't too excited....

Though I won't be with them on Valentine's Day, I hope they'll remember who loves them...

Valentine's Day Pretties

My good friend Mary of Hill Country Quilter sent me a lovely mini quilt that I love and which is perfect for Valentine's Day!

The batiks are so pretty in my favorite colors....

...and coordinate perfectly with my favorite Dove milk chocolates!

Thank you, Mary!

Trying to regain my mojo...

Determined to get back into sewing mode, I pulled out my pinks/purples scrap bin and dove in...

...and ended up with this:

I wish I had used some red fabrics but I don't think it turned out too poorly.   Just need to figure out how to make a hanger for it.


Thanks to Cindy Sharp who created L.O.V.E. Mini Quilt Sampler Quilt for Moda Bake Shop  who inspired me to jump back into sewing again....   

No, I didn't attempt the reverse applique... I chickened out and used fusible to do the letters.   And it wasn't my weekend to download and print stuff... was out of ink...  so I drew out the letters myself.   And then... PhotoBucket decided to "force" the upgrade I've been avoiding and I had to attempt the learn the new photo editing stuff.    *phooey*

But here's a photo of my youngest grandson with his "furry neck warmer"....  aka grandpuppy Gussie!   That made me smile! 

 

Burn Out?

Granted, things have been hectic at work lately but since I finished the baby quilt over the long MLK weekend... I've just not had the energy/drive/interest to do any sewing.   I've thought about this and wondered what was behind it.

Also interesting is that... in spite of lots of good fabric sales online, I've not been inspired to make any purchases.  Clearly, I must be ill!    *wink*

I did a little web-surfing yesterday while I ate lunch and came across two projects that piqued my interest.  The first was a mini quilt from Moda Bake Shop:

THIS PROJECT (link) would be perfect to use up leftovers from other projects or fabrics from your scrap bins.

I also found a cool quilt that just might work for my youngest nephew who will be graduating from high school in June... 

THIS PROJECT (link) is from AllPeopleQuilt.com... all I would need is a bunch o' fabrics that would be "manly."   I do like the stripes in this one and am thinking stripes and solids perhaps?

Still don't have the urge to sew...   but perhaps I'll get inspired soon...

A Fun Saturday

On a chilly Saturday morning, I drove up to visit my daughter and her family for the day...  and to celebrate my elder granddaughter's 9th birthday.   In addition to a set of books, I made her a tote from a running quarter yard of kitty batik fabric I'd picked up.

Emma was ably assisted in opening her presents by her younger sister and Mia, the Wonder Dog!

After a yummy lunch out, we came back to the house to make a few Valentines....

...from double-sided card stock (on sale at Michaels).

You fill the hearts with individually wrapped candies (we used Valentine Hershey's Kisses) and present them to your sweetheart!

In addition to using regular scissors to cut out the heart shapes, we also used fancy scrapbooking scissors... which were more difficult to use but gave a great effect to the edges.

 

After "sewing" the hearts together with a "running stitch" and an "over-the-edge stitch"...   I prefer the running stitch.   It's easier and uses less ribbon!

 

No pattern or instructions...   I think you all can figure this one out on your own.  The girls made one for their teachers and their other grandparents.   We had fun...  but my daughter will be sweeping up all those punched-out paper circles for weeks!    *lol*