Feeling Neglected

Not me...my sewing machine. Poor thing has been cast away into a corner to gather dust. Honestly, it sat for over 3 weeks without nary a thought. Well, I thought about it. Just couldn't muster up the time to actually put it to work. I actually went through days where I'm pretty certain I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I don't generally have an addictive personality, unless you count green chile and pico de gallo, but I was getting a bit shaky.


However, a few days ago, I did dust the poor thing off and begin to whisper sweet nothings into the bobbin case. When I actually sat down behind it, I felt like I was enjoying a long overdue visit with an old friend.


Presently, I need to really work on a quilt block for a dear friend's daughter's wedding quilt. I've been in a quandry as to what to do, but I think I've just about settled upon something. The square we were asked to design is "Texas Cowboy Poetry" and they wanted to incorporate the poems A. had written. A few days ago I stumbled upon this design that I love and want to include


so I'm hoping to get the quilt block done this week.


Before I left for Texas, I started piecing the blocks for another quilt. This fabric line is way out of my comfort zone, but I must have been feeling adventurous that day and I know I must be making it for someone else who will love it - hopefully.



I finished the top for this quilt:




Just need to find a backing.


I embroidered a tea towel for a friend the other day, but I gave it to her without taking a picture. I also have to get quite a few more done for Christmas, but I am in need of some good quality flour sack towels. The ones I picked up locally simply will not do and this little pink angel needs to be on a nice towel.

This baby quilt is in the midst of being pieced as well.
Posting this for Bobbie who let me know I needed to include a photo. Here you go girl, just a peek though:




Then I have this collection of wool.




And here's the backing fabric:






When DH and I were driving back from San Antone, we stopped at this little shop in Brady. I needed some yarn to send to a friend and I thought DH might like to choose some wool for me to make him a vest. Well he saw this enormous wool selection and piped up, "I'm thinking a hunting quilt!" LOL! So we commenced to picking and choosing pieces and I am waitng for the Fall weather to arrrive so that I can begin to piece him a patchwork wool quilt. I adore this man, but I'm not too keen on sewing with wool when its still 90° outside! However, the mountains...in November...in a tent...I'm thinking it'll be mighty handy to have around!

I also put together a jar for a scrapbooking swap last week. We had to alter the jar in the colors chosen (she chose red and blue) and this is what I came up with:


Here's a view from the top:



I hope she likes it. I've never altered anything before and it's been a coon's age since I scrapped anything.

Then I made a few cards for some friends whose twins are turning 2:



These were fun to make, but I don't know where that odd shadow next to Piglet came from.


I am also practicing on my machine quilting skills. At this point, I'm afraid to quilt on a big quilt in fear of making a mess of things.


So there you have it. A sewing - crafting update. It'll probably be a while before I have anything else to share as far as sewing goes because we are on the cusp of beginning our Fall Works in a couple of weeks and my sewing machine will once again be relegated to that lonely corner while I lavish all of my attention on the cast iron cookware.

Rambling Thursday and Some Scrapping Pages

I'll tell you - the older I get, the longer it takes me to recuperate from wild, crazy weekends! Not that I had one of those, but the kids had company this past weekend and I was wiped out! 2 of their friends that we've known for over a dozen years made the pilgrimage across the state line for a weekend of fun and dancing. The annual 4-H Valentine's dance brought in a good crowd on Saturday night. DH and I always have a date night when the kids are kicking up their heels and although neither of us enjoy spending time in town, we have come to enjoy our date nights. We had a gift certificate for a trio of restaurants and as we had a hankerin for a sizzling plate of fajitas, we ended up at Tia Juana's. We always share a plate. Seems as if portions are way out of line these days and sharing a plate fills us up without making us miserable. After supper, we always make our way to the bookstore to share a coffee and peruse the shelves. Then we make our way to the dance for a little two-steppin and visitin. The kids stayed up until 3:30 am on Friday night (Saturday morning) and then visited until 4:30 the following night! Guess they had a lot of catching up to do! Sure was a good weekend though. I love these kids and it did my heart good to hear the laughter shared amongst good friends into the wee hours of the morning. I did my part by providing heaps of homecooked food and sent the bachelor of the bunch home with a batch of cookies and promises that they would make the trip back here more often.

Hmmm...what else? Well I've been working on Christmas gifts, but I can't show you those.

I've also been cleaning our tired, pitiful office which was in sad, sad shape. Poor room is really a multipurpose room and it struggles with too much to do. It's a home office, the computer room, it houses all the homeschool books and we've been homeschooling for 9 years, and it is also home too my scrapping and sewing and quilting supplies. I think it's feeling a bit over-extended. So this morning the piles practically shook with fear as I entered - a woman on a mission and the dust did fly - literally. When I finally emerged, the room had been tackled and I felt a great sense of accomplishment. The next person that sneaks in there and tries to hide something that they don't want in their room had better run - and they had better run fast! I wonder whether I can borrow someones front yard in town for a garage sale. Surely some of this junk will be someone else's treasure!

Our friend from the other ranch brought some cattle today and he stayed for dinner. I made a yummy apple crisp for dessert and had plans to share it with y'all, but alas, I forgot to take pictures and only an empty plate remains, so no recipe today. Sorry.

I've also been working on scrapbook pages a bit each day and although I hate the mess that is my scrapbook table when I leave stuff out, it seems to be the only way I can actually get pages completed. I can just wander by when I have a few minutes and add some paper or mat some photos or design a title. I'm such a slow scrapper, but I love the creative process and everything about this hobby so I have learned to deal with the mess. Actually, I like to think of it as organized chaos! I am getting extremely tired of working on Christmas pages, but we treasure the memories and it's just so much fun to flip back through the years and reminisce. Here are a few of the pages I recently completed. They're pretty simple but they fill my sense of order and quench my need for creativity and give me a reason to keep on snapping pictures!

This was the year Santa brought DD her puppy. I've got lots of journaling on the facing page. Nothing like getting a puppy for Christmas to make you feel the magic of Christmas! The kid was speechless and I don't think that's happened since! LOL!

This was a fun picture to take. We were on our way to the Christmas gathering in town and stopped to take this photo. The pretty yellow flowers were the most awful smelling things you ever smelled and we all had to take our boots off and toss them in the back of the truck while we made the drive to town.

Baking a cake for Jesus' birthday is one of our favorite traditions. I love that last shot where the kids are blowing out the candles.We took this picture in the middle of the creek. At times, we had so much rain that that huge boulder was rolling under water.

I think this is just about my favorite Christmas picture ever! I journaled about it on the facing page. The kids heard sleigh bells and spotted a red light outside Granny's living room window and they we're SO excited! Talk about having a hard time going to sleep on Christmas Eve!

I have an entire page of outtakes from this photo shoot! The goats were being goats and that means they were anything but cooperative! LOL!

So, not very exciting, but that's what I've been up to. We cut bulls recently and I'm working on pulling out some pictures to share so stay tuned for that riveting installment.

Right Now I Am...

A child of God * a Texan living in New Mexico * craving watermelon * trying to help my son with his college Algebra and not succeeding * teaching my teenage daughter how to drive * a wife * a homebody * a photographer * a cowboy's sweetheart * a bookworm * hooked on the twinkle in DH's eyes * 30# lighter than I was last year * a firm believer in the power of prayer * needing to scrub my kitchen floor * saddened by the state of the world * trying to spend less money * a lifetime learner * wishing my dirt road was longer * a shower singer * planning a garden * a quilter * spending more time on my knees * in love * loved * a reader * itching to plant something * praying for rain * uncoordinated * missing my friend Jacque * often laughing until I cry * thankful for good health * touched by notes from friends in the mailbox * a daughter * celebrating my gray hair (I earned it) * learning to walk more closely with the Lord * born without any fashion sense whatsoever * a believer in dreams * a list maker * happy * anticipating our next date night at the bookstore * soothed by the sound of rain on the tin roof * an American * a porch sitter * moved by music * comfortable in my own skin * a mama * addicted to green chilies * fascinated by God's hand in the everyday moments *still giddy about my DH * giving thanks for this lifestyle * learning how to remodel a 100 yr old house, one project at a time * low maintenance * getting to know new friends * a writer * easily brought to laughter * a registered Republican voter * treasuring old friends * a teacher * aspiring to be more organized * unable to bypass a used bookstore without stopping to browse * a good cook * a procrastinator * beginning to experience creaky bones * a scrapbooker * an optimist * wearing reading glasses * listening to my daughter practice the Peanuts Theme on the piano *enjoying my new sewing machine * missing the mountains * grumbling about my next trip to town * a Texas Aggie (Whoop!) * a friend * happily married for 21 years * softhearted * 45 * blessed * a work in progress.



Ok I'll stop now. DD has informed me that I can only be so many things.