Holiday Cheer

Over the weekend Ev and I put up our lights on the fence.  Here's what the one side looks like:

Last night we went to Dairy Queen and took Addy with us for the ride.  We usually get her a little cone.  When we got up to the drive thru window, the gal let us know that instead of getting her a cone, they have what they call a 'pup cup'.  It is ice cream in a small sundae container with a dog biscuit in the middle of it, for 60 cents!  So next time we get Addy a DQ treat, it will be a pup cup.

When we came home from DQ we had to drive around the block so we could see the lights on the fence from all sides.  I noticed a couple bulbs were out, so tonight I might go outside right when I get home and replace them.

Car Milestones

Yes, I know I just posted that my car turned 200,000 miles not too long ago, however it's now at 202.  With all the driving we did over the holiday and past few weeks, it got there pretty quick.

Have I mentioned lately that I love my car?  hahaha  Ev and I were talking about cars over the weekend.  The car I have now is a 2006 Ford Taurus.  I don't think I will ever have the attachment I have to this car with any other car I may own in the future.  Don't know why.  Or maybe I do.  It was my first 'new' car, although she did have 12,000 miles on her because she was a 'program car'.

We went through a lot of grief when I first bought this car, but the dealership shined like a diamond during that time, and I have not quit praising them since.

And pretty proud that we chose Ford, because of their reputation.

Moving Right Along

We had a nice visit up North over Thanksgiving.  When we got home we did a few things around the house, putting up lights on the fence, etc.  I also found time to load a double backing on Gemma and one of the nursing home tops.  Have to get moving on them!

The bobbins came for the 201, Belle.  I haven't even had time to try them out in her.  Been kinda crazy lately.

Del and Sarah came back from Brazil and came over last night to visit.  They stayed for a while showing us lots of pictures.  They brought a few little gifts, which was really nice of them.

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends!

A Little Piece Of Fancy

Had a few minutes today and made a little doily for one of the spool pins on Belle, the 201.

Did Someone Say Cheesecake?

Here's the cheesecake I made last night.  I am so tickled that it did not crack (yet) in the center!  Hoping it stays that way.  It smells delicious.  I'm not going to put any fruit topping on it, because my mom likes it plain.

Also put together and baked two pans of lasagna for Ev's mom.

Cute Snowman Decoration

Looky what I made!  He's so cute!  The glue wasn't quite dry on his buttons when I snapped this, but it will dry clear.  Was super easy to make.  Here is the link to the you tube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvZvcKpWf7Y&t=4s

I did it just about identical, except I added a little glue around the back of the hat to glue it to the snowman's head.  And I used different things for buttons and hat ornament, but I really like it!

Inexpensive to make!

3 pair of toddler socks in white, $1
3 pair of toddler socks in colors, $1
bag of star sequins, $1.88
bag of gem sequins, $2.88
blush, $1
orange puff paint, $.97
black puff paint, $.97
bag of rice, $1.50

If I hadn't been in a hurry to make one, I would not have bought the sequins.  I think I would have scrounged in my button box and beads for them.  The sequins were the most expensive things, but there are enough sequins to made an army of snowmen.  Remember, 3 pair of socks make 6 snowmen.  I found the socks and blush at the dollar store.  The rest I got at Wal Mart.

Backing Choice

Last night I finally got the backing sewn together for the next two nursing home tops.  It is a Christmassy print with a bit of shimmer to it.

This pic actually shows the backing material wrong side.  The blue is one of the tops.

I doubt I will have time to load the quilts on Gemma before Thanksgiving, but hopefully the following weekend I can get that done.

Tonight I need to make a cheesecake and some other food for Thursday.

My House Collection

This year I am going to display my village houses a little differently.  I was going to paint the ladder all white, but the wind was blowing and I gave up.  What I did accomplish was a whitewash effect, and I like it.  The shelves are mostly just left over laminate flooring pieces.  Since they were going to be covered with batting (snow), it didn't matter what shape they were in.

This is as far as I got before I ran out of steam.  There is room for a couple more houses.  I will put lights in all of them, then add trees and people to the display.

I refuse to light it before Thanksgiving, though.  Just on general principal.  haha.

Before and After

This is the 301 before I cleaned her up.  She didn't look too bad, just needed a good cleaning.  There is a rusted area on the plate covering the feed dogs.  I took it off and soaked it in PB Blaster.  There was a LOT of disgusting old oil and grease inside the machine.  It wasn't too bad in the old lint department.  I am starting to wonder just how much this old beauty had really been used.

The foot pedal connects directly to the motor.  The wiring on the foot pedal was pretty scary.  I cut the wire close to the machine and close to the pedal and spliced in a new piece of wiring.  I used a LOT of electrical tape and feel confident that all is good.

Getting her out of the cabinet was pretty easy.  I doubt I will save the cabinet or use it for anything.  So here she is after I cleaned her up:

Can't really tell much of a difference, but there really is.

I found a presser foot that fit, so that was one less thing I needed to buy.  I had heard that purchased bobbins from local retail stores might be a little to large, making the fit too tight, but I had to at least give it a shot.  We went to the store and bought a package for 97 cents.  True to what I had heard, they did NOT fit, so I have some ordered from a gal who gets the good ones.  Then I will know for sure that she sews as good as I am thinking she will.  So excited!

The motor just purrs.  It is so unbelieveable that a machine this old is in such good shape.  Love it.

Peaceful Lake

Nick called me this morning and said if I had a minute on my lunch hour, I could find him out in his canoe at the old lake.  Now, doesn't that look peaceful?  He was really enjoying himself.  Was drowning a few worms.

Singer 201

Can't really see much detail in the pic, but I am going to look at a Singer 201 tonight.  Might add it to the herd.

Flowering Cactus

When I was shopping at Aldi, I saw that they had some Christmas Cactus that were in bloom for sale.  My great grandmother and my grandmother each always had these plants and I just think they are so pretty.

This one is just loaded with blooms!  I have it sitting on my kitchen table, where the cat and dog can't get at it (hopefully!).  I think that Ev (in the background) is bending down, telling Addy to leave Mom's flower alone!

I don't normally have centerpieces, but this just looked so nice together I had to snap a picture.  A bowl of oranges and lemons, a green candle, and the cactus.  Pretty!

Thinking of going back to Aldi and picking up a couple more for my mom and the girls.

Monster Cookies

Part of my plan Saturday was to bake cookies.  With the kitten emergency, I didn't get to do any baking.  I did, however, get my shopping done and Sunday I baked some Monster Cookies.  These are the first batch that I made.  They are the 'big' cookies.  I only made a dozen of them in that size.  Yes, there are only 11 pictured.  You can fill in the blanks...  haha.  Anyway, the rest of the batter was made into smaller cookies.

I froze three bags of them and put the rest in a cookie tin.  Going to do as much of my holiday baking early that I can.  Amish Sugar Cookies are next on my list!

Second Top Quilted

I had a double back loaded on Gemma for these two tops for the nursing home.  The pink bordered one had the quilting finished a bit ago, but had to stay on the frame because of the double back.  I finished quilting the white and green bordered one this weekend.  I did a simple grid on the big squares and some oval shapes in the border.  Nothing exact, just free form.

Both need binding now, which won't take too long.  I have to get the other two tops loaded and quilted soon.  Plan to get the backing ready this week one night after work.  Time is running out!

Kitty Story

This story has a good ending, I promise!

I have two very sick kitties on my chest in this picture.  Saturday morning, Hanna's kitties were in very bad shape.  The mama cat had quit nursing and quit getting in the box with them, so not only were they starving, they were freezing cold after spending the night in the barn.  When Ben went over to work on the house, he called Hanna right away (she and I were at breakfast).  We both went over there, and so did Ben's mom.  There were six very sick kitties.  Each of us took two and tried to feed them and warm them up.  The grey one above was completely non responsive.  Even if you opened her eyes, she wouldn't respond or anything.  No movement, barely breathing, and cold.  For four hours we fed and warmed all six of the babies.  After three hours, the grey kitty twitched.  Just a little, but it was a twitch.  Then a little while later she opened her mouth just a tiny bit.  I had been putting a drop of kitty milk on her lips all along, hoping she would lick it or something.  Finally, she started to take some of it!  Not much, but we got some in her and that was a start.

Hanna was very concerned about them being able to go potty, so she massaged their little bellies until they did.  And now, they are staying in her mother in law's basement, not the barn.  Mama cat, who's milk dried up, is not with them, but she had pretty much left them already, so it isn't making any difference.  The basement is nice and warm and clean.

By the time I left, little Twitch was opening her eyes, moving around a little bit, and even meowing!  A kitty miracle!  And here are a few pictures of her from last night:

Licking her lips!  Must have just gotten some milk!

Being vocal.  Hey, guys, here I am!

I am King of the mountain, yes I am!

And my favorite picture.  Who knows she's cute?  Yup, she knows it!

Now, I have to figure out how to convince Ev to let me have a kitten!  We have Shadow cat and Miss Addy the Australian Shepherd/Labrador mix.  I am worried that if we get Twitch, Addy will be too rough with her.  Would probably have to keep Twitch in a seperate room when we weren't home, if we got her.

Will keep you posted!

Been Busy

Sorry I haven't posted again.  Been busy around the house.  I swear, dirty laundry multiplies like rabbits.  sigh.  Anyway, tomorrow is Veteran's Day and I have the day off.  Hopefully I will get to sew.

I absolutely do not want to hear about the election any more.  Sick of it.  Wish the media would put that to bed already.

Plans for Johanna's wedding are starting to ramp up.  She is deciding on decorations now.  Thankfully we have friends who have had kids get married recently and are willing to share their decorations.

Bought 9000, yes 9000, twinkle lights at Lowe's over the weekend for decorations at the wedding.

Beautiful Morning

This morning I took this picture from the boat launch area of Staunton Lake, just before the sun came up.  Can you see the tendrils of fog whisping across the water?  I am so blessed to have been able to enjoy this beautiful view to start my morning!

How did I end up at the boat launch before the sun came up on a Monday morning?  Hee hee, funny story...

Ev left for work and I was trying to get that last half hour of sleep in before I had to get ready to go to work, when my phone rang.  Nick was calling because he had gone fishing after work (he works overnight shift) and left the lights on on his car and the battery was dead.  Would I come give him a jump?  Of course, what are Moms for...  hee hee.

Thinking I would be safe just going there in my night pants, with a sweat jacket over my pajama top, I headed out there and got him all set up.  Just about the time I was getting back in the car, here comes a gal I know taking her morning walk!  So what are the chances of meeting someone you know, before 7 a.m., out in the country at a lake?  What a coincidence.  We talked for just a minute then went our seperate ways.

It's nice to still be needed.

Finally Sewing Again

Yup, finally getting back into the groove.  Knew it would happen, just needed to wait it out!  haha.  Anyway, over the weekend I started quilting on the second top for the nursing homes.  Doing a simple grid pattern on the big blocks and some ovals in the border.  Nothing fancy at all.

I chose a cone of thread, and right now I can't remember if it was Signature or YLI or what, but it was a cone that I bought because it was a good brand and I wanted to try it.  I bought it a couple years ago and every time that I tried to use it, I had a mess.  Loops all over the place, thread breakage, and just all kinds of aggravation.  I put it away for a while.

Well, I got the thread out again and told myself that if I had to change threads in the middle of this quilt because of problems, that I would just change threads.  Not going to stress over it.  Would you believe that thread has been wonderful to work with this entire time?

I think part of the reason is that I am a bit more experienced now than I was when I bought the thread.  Another factor is that I am letting my machine warm up, with the empty bobbin case in it, for a lot longer than I had been.  It is an older machine and maybe it just takes things a little bit longer to get moving properly.

I also have the quilt fairly taut on the machine.  Not any sagging areas to speak of.  And, another thing, I am keeping the bed of the machine really close to the backing.  That may have been part of my problem all along with other quilts, too.

Live and learn!

Just A Little More Cub Stuff

My brother sent me this picture of the Chicago River.  The city dyed it blue for the Cub's celebratory parade.  Pretty cool!

CUBS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!

Still Here

Not much new to talk about on the quilting front.  At least not in my house.  Been kind of stuck in a rut here for a while.  I know it will go away soon, just riding it out!

I heard from friends that Jamie Wallen of the Quilter's Apothecary had his trailer stolen in Houston.  That just sickens me.  What would someone want with all his stuff?  Unless you are a quilter, there really isn't any other use for it.  I sure hope they recover his trailer and it's contents, but the odds are tehy won't.

Been watching my Cubbies in the World Series.  Wow.  That's all I can say.  Wow.