Grandaughters are Wonderful

Have you had the pleasure of teaching your granddaughter or daughter how to sew?

This is my 8-1/2 year old granddaughter with my Featherweight. A couple of weeks ago I got the pleasure of staying with her and her 4 year old sister for the weekend while their parents went out of town. The 8 year old was all ready for my stay with plans all made out. She received her first sewing machine for Christmas and she wanted ME to help her learn how to sew!! It's one of the battery operated child ones with the needle encased in a plastic cover so no one gets their fingers sewn together. OUCH!

Well, first off, no batteries for the machine - yep, could have run out and bought some but I had my Featherweight with me (( silly Grandma, did you REALLY think you were going to have time to sew! )) so I thought to self "Self, she is a very responsible young lady, lets show her how to stitich strips on my little Featherweight!"

She did most excellently! She kept her fingers away from the needle ( after I warned her about what could happen ), she kept the speed just finewith the foot pedal, and she kept the edges lined up like she had been doing this for years -

I was doing the happy dance! The best part, is SHE LIKED IT!! Maybe now I have someone that might like to learn how to sew! ( Do you see the visions of us sewing and creating together dancing in my head? )

Now how about that Bear kit, Granma! ( talk about a fast moving attention span! 4 longs strips of fabric and she's ready to move on). Ok, she gets the kit and of course opens EVERYTHING, including the sequin pack that goes all over the table - but I'm a wonderful Granma, remember, so I don't say one little word <> )
with concentration like this, it's going to be a great bear! but, alas, the attention span goes ZIP ( or maybe she just doesn't like hand sewing! ) and so the kit is put away, with sequins in a snack bag, so that she and Mom can work on it.

So where is the 4 year old?? There is a picnic going on, in the middle of the floor, with dolls and animals and colors and OH GOLLY, I don't know what that child has brought in. (But I'm a wonderful Granma and don't say a peep :)

Mom quilts a little too. She has a sewing machine and decided that for Christmas she was going to make rag quilts for about a bizillion people. ( yep, told her to come shop my stash before she went and bought anything - helped me by clearing out some stuff and helped her, too! )

Mom made them a rag quilt each for Christmas and I tried to take their pictures with the quilts

but one didn't want to pose and the

other, well, no camera shy here.

I'm not giving up on the sewing lessons! It was just too much fun. Maybe for her birthday, she needs a REAL sewing machine! ( and how about a kit already cut out just ready to sew) and an afternoon of her and I and sewing machines.

Retreat, Snow, and Flying Time

Geez, guess it was last week that we had our annual "get over the holidays" retreat. Always the first part of January, just to give everyone a breather ( I'm not saying what the breather is from, I'm just saying breather :) )
I couldn't go up until Saturday morning, and for the first time my buddy tirane93 got to go, too! We had a great time, there was 14 of us!

Well, ya'll know that at retreat you ALWAYs eat well, right!?! I thought I would start this post off the right way and show you some of the snacks that we induldged on Saturday. Yuum!! Homemade cookies, homemade brownies ( they were the bomb!), chips, candy - and ok, yes, there was veggies and fruit - if you eat a bite of fruit then you can go back for M&M's !

This doesn't count the delicious lunch and dinner we had - and OH MY homemade apple pie,, I'll go anywhere for that apple pie!

busy busy people. three people were finishing up Judy Neimeyer projects - I'm so impressed! I have one of her patterns that has all the pieces done, but I just can't quite get to the layout!
Another Featherweight user - you just can't beat it for a great straight stitch. I had mine with me, too!

Now for some works in progress -- this is one of the Judy N. quilts,, all oriental fabrics. Just beautiful!

isn't this lovely! I think she decided to make the inner border a dark green, instead of the yellow. I should have gotten a picture of that. I like the green much better than the yellow. It really worked well with the fabrics.

This is one of tirane's projects. Don't you love the colors!

This one was already finished, just needed the binding. Same pattern as the one above with the yellow binding - a great versatile pattern!

A great stack and whack -- the inner hex is the main theme of the fabric - look close! She said it started out as a small baby quilt and just kept growing! I understand!
I want to do this one - and I've a ton of black and whites!
And this one is just fun! A great way to use up some stash. Isn't it great to see such different things being made! Almost like our own private quilt show - and everyone a winner :)

This is the one I worked on. I bought this as a kit back in 1997 in New Mexico on vacation. I liked it then, but when I was working on it, I was questioning my decision. This is what happens, isn't it - we like it several years ago, but our tastes change and UUGGGHHH. I'm still thinking it will be a good charity quilt.

So where does the snow come in at?? Saturday morning was absolutely beautiful, in the 50's or 60's and sunny, just wonderful. But the weather guy kept saying that we would get rain and snow on Sunday. Ok, no problem ( and this IS Texas where the weather changes hourly ) we can go up on Saturday and come home Sunday before the weather gets bad. Saturday late afternoon, someone sees a weather report on the phone and it's now moved up to Sunday early morning! Yikes! I do not like to drive in snow and I really don't like to drive in rain -- so tirane and I came home about 10pm Saturday night. We were chickens. Here me cluck :)

I woke up about 4am Sunday morning to a good rain - and it rained until about 1130 that morning - then is snowed - it snowed until about 4pm ( I think we got about 4 inches ). I tell you, I was real glad to be in MY bed, in MY house that morning.

Love my retreats,

Love my warm bed on a cold rainy snowy morning better!

The second day of a new year

(photo from Flickr - ::big daddy k:: /Rich)

It's a chilly Sunday morning, even the dogs stayed in bed late - husband is still asleep and I'm lost in blog-land.. catching up, reading, oohhing and ahhing. I just love mornings like this when it's quiet, and peaceful. When a cup of hot green tea and my thoughts are my companions.

I see that a lot of resolutions are being made, a lot of resolutions to NOT make resolutions, a lot of UFO challenges, clean up the sewing room promises -- well, you get the idea.

Not ME!

Hadn't thought about whether I was gonna or not gonna make a resolution

Hadn't given a short thought to those UFO's ( after all, if I really really liked what I was doing, wouldn't I have finished it back then?? )

The sewing room is always a mess, it will stay a mess, I give up trying to organize it. There is just way to much stuff ( spelled c.r.a.p ) for it all to fit into my little room (( lol, that little room is 11 x 11 and also houses the computer - see, little room ))

Me - I'm going to sew when I want to, watch TV when I darn well please ( I have become addicted to Netflix instant watch ), browse the internet for hours on end, enjoy my grandkids when I get to see them and pet the dogs on a very regular schedule and take them for long walks.

My husband,, hhmm,. should I pet him,too, or take him on long walks?

To all of you with big plans - I applaud you and will cheer you on with loud applause of enthusiasm. I will live vicariously through you.

As for me,, well, I'm lazy, I'm happy with no pressure to produce, I don't want to meet a challenge in my home hours ( getting to work everyday can be a challenge! ) I don't want to compete or agree to deadlines.

I FINALLY figured out that I will NEVER live long enough to make all the quilts I want to make or use up all the fabric that I have bought. ( did I really say that??! )

I want to love and be loved
I want to enjoy my friends
I want to be a couch potato without guilt
I want to sew when the urge strikes


Wonder what thoughts the third day of January will bring?

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 )