Celebrate the Season

This has been around for a few years, but I still love it - Enjoy!

A Fairy Tale about the Tooth Fairy Pillow

A 5 year old grandson lost his first tooth and Mom said "Gee, Grammy, it would be wonderful if he had a Tooth Fairy Pillow to put the tooth in and for the Fairy to leave him money. Gee, Grammy, think you could make one?"
Well, the kind and wonderful Grammy said "OF Course! We have to protect those little bitty baby teeth, they can't get lost under that pillow - and the ADORABLE Grandson needs a place for the wealthy Fairy to leave A LOT OF MONEY".

So the Kind and Wonderful Grammy thought,, what kind of pillow would work? For some reason Grammy kept thinking "round",, ( where did that come from?) She thought and thought and was just having a really tough time creating something in her mind that could equal the importance of a lost tooth.

So retreat came and that was a project that Grammy took. She had a small round pillow ( see there's that ROUND" thing again ) and brought some bright fabrics. She knew that Retreat was the perfect place to be inspired and creative and imaginative and make the best Tooth Fairy Pillow ever!

It wasn't working.

The Kind and Wonderful Grammy just couldn't get it right. She sewed the pocket crooked, the letters for his name didn't show, the fabrics clashed. She even sewed the pillow cover closed before the pillow was put inside ( oh my! )

The Kind and Wonderful Grammy shook her head, admitted defeat and cried. Her Adorable Grandson needed a Tooth Fairy Pillow! He depended on her! So she went home from retreat with a not-very-good tooth fairy pillow
( it doesn't even deserve to be in capital letters :( - sad sad Grammy )

When the Kind and Wonderful Grammy gets home - much to her dismay she finds out that the Adorable Grandson LOST ANOTHER TOOTH!! She is going to have to give him the tooth fairy pillow ( that she is not proud of ) afterall!

"NO! I will make a much better pillow!" says the Grammy! and she proceeds to find other fabric and then a design ( it's a miracle ) pops into her head! A four-patch! "I can print his name with the computer and put a picture of a fairy on it!", says the Kind and Wonderful Grammy, wondering why she didn't think of this first.

She finds football fabric ( the Grandson is a football fan! ) and something to coordinate with it, she gets out the printer fabric and makes a template and VOILA! the middle square is done!

She cuts the squares, sews them up quick as a wink, cuts the back, designs a little envelope

with a little snap to keep the itty bitty tooth inside and hold the money that the WEALTHY TOOTH FAIRY will leave and presents it to her Adorable Grandson.

The Adorable Grandson thinks it is cool.
The Adorable Grandson's mother thinks it is wonderful.
The Adorable Grandson's father nods his head in agreement

And the Kind and Wonderful Grammy is proud.




( and at $5 a tooth, the poor Tooth Fairy will be broke )

Christmas Retreat

Our bee Christmas retreat was the first weekend this month - I always call them my "Eating, Drinking, Sewing, Eating" time with the girls. It's always so! nice to get away and be with good friends. I will say,, we have some of the best cooks! A great chicken casserole on Friday nite, delicious breakfast casserole on Saturday morning, wonderful tiny ham/cheese sandwiches for Saturday lunch and the special pizza catered in for Saturday dinner. YUUM! OH! a delicious chocolate angle food cake ( hand made, too! no box was this one! ). and a to-die-for chocolate sheet cake that I might as well have plastered on my thighs. I sure I'm forgetting something - but trust me,, I was NOT hungry! This is why I have so much trouble loosing any weight :)

So in between the eating, talking, eating, wine-ing,,what was everyone working on, you ask?

I played all Friday afternoon on a tooth fairy pillow for my grandson - didn't like it didn't finish it at retreat. That's a story for another day. Then I pulled out a paper piece project ( tan/green/red stars, got tired of that, SO I had a tan, brown, beige Turning Twenty quilt that I had already cut out and finally! found something fun to do. I'm happy with it! I have already gotten the backing out and I think I'm going to do some straight line quiliting in some sort of a pattern ( yeah, that made a lot of sense, didn't it )

This is the beach quilt that we had the swap on ( was it this year or last? ). This is so cute,, there is a little bush she made to fit in a space,, great idea!

Our resident free motion quilter was hard at work on a "Take Five" quilt that she made. Someday I'll get enough confidence to do a big quilt - she had a few tables all arranged to take the weight of the quilt which made it easier ( she said - still looked hard to me! )

A couple of views of progress and VOILA!!

I love this fabric collection I'm not sure what it will be ( she could send it my way! I'll make something from them )

and I covet these blocks,, so pretty! and if Santa brought me an embroidery machine, I could make pretties, too!

This is a Patrick Lose pattern that I wish I had,, isn't this just as cute as can be! I just love doing fusible applique. I call it "fabric by number" ( like paint by number ?? ok, I'm weird ), but it's so fun!
She sewed them down and then she is going to quilt over the top to secure everything. I might just have to go get that pattern!

Doesn't this one just make you want to fly right down to the beach! ( for those of you already there, can you see me stick my tongue out at you?? )

The sandels and beach ball are buttons! this is a kit complete with the cool hanger with the shell - Santa are you listening??


We had a Pillowcase Queen this weekend, too. She had a mission to make 30 ( yes 30! ) pillowcases for family. It takes me months to make ONE ! I left before she did, and at the count I had, she was dang close just a few shots of what she was doing. The creme and blue poinsettas here are my favorite.

A baby alphabet quilt that is getting the binding put on, I'm not sure whose heart quilt this was, I turned around and VOILA! it appeard on the wall. springy! I liked this one and the different fabrics used - tres modern!

the big squares below was finished but I asked her to hold it up so I could take a shot,, beautiful!

and this one is MINI -- Yes! a MINI, about 12 inches square. wow,,, blows me away.



I hope you all have Happy Holidays! And if the little elves show up and finish projects for you - I'm jealous!

I got myself an early Christmas present

I’ve been wanting a laptop for a long time – was too cheap to go buy one, just couldn’t justify it to myself.  After all, I have a great desktop that I love, does everything and more!

But, I wanted a laptop, to go with me where ever I went, to indulge myself infront of the television ( just what I’m doing now <vbg> ) to take on vacations, retreats and just anywhere I darn well wanted to go.

I did it!  Ordered a Dell on Sunday night and brought it home on Friday – that’s just slick!  Of course I didn’t change a thing on it or ask for anything special.  It’s basic black, 15 inch screen with Windows 7.   So far, I’ve spent two evenings playing with Windows just trying to figure that out!  It is a bit different from Windows XP.

Enough geek talk – just wanted to share my happiness.  Maybe now I can post more stuff to the blog! In fact, that is what I’  or not,,  new laptop means more play time on the computer !! 

Thanks for indulging me!