This is why ...... 

........ I enjoy making quilts for people I love.

cheese, quilts, and reading

As you read in my last post, I wasn't feeling very well in the first part of the week. The second part of the week, my cold got better, but then I ate some cheese, and I've been feeling very sluggish because of it. This is what happens when I crave something that is "legal" on my diet, but still doesn't sit well with me. I take a few bites anyway - and then suffer.

For three days.

The question is: Will I ever learn?

The answer is: Probably not! :))

But in other (good!) news ... Next week is Thanksgiving, and not long after that, it'll be time to start getting things ready for Christmas! Ashlee and Daniel are coming and will be here three or four days. I'm so excited I might just wet my pants stay away from forbidden food that makes me feel awful.

We plan to go see the new Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader while they're here. Can you believe I've never read the Narnia series?

Biggest crime for a reader, I know. However - in celebration of the new movie coming out, I'm going to read as much of the series as possible. 

How 'bout you? Are you doing anything special to celebrate the Holiday Season? Leave a comment and tell us about it! Or - tell me what you're reading and whether you would recommend it. I'm always on the lookout for great books!

One more bit of good news before I go. I finally finished Jessie's Coca-Cola quilt!! This is the good part about being down with an illness. You tend to get a lot of hand sewing done. :)

I could have wrapped it up and given it to her for Christmas, but since it's been hanging on the stairwell for three years (cough, cough!), I didn't figure it would be much of a surprise.

Next post, I'll show you her reaction to (finally) getting the quilt.

 

P.S. I chose Coca-Cola because 1.) She likes Coke! And 2.) Her bedroom is decorated in Coca-Cola garb. Her bed cover is red, and her sheets are black. Her curtains are also black, so it goes well with what she's put together. Not sure how we coordinated so well ... I guess we're just awesome like that. 

*rolls eyes

oh my stars!

I can't talk very well today, cuz by dose is plugged up and I'b dot feelid very well. So here are sobe pictures to keep you occupied til I returd.

I fidally fidished by start quilt. I watted to take the pics outside, cuz the colors of the quilt are so earthy. Sorry for the look od by face. It was sdowing. 

Aaaaaaachoooooo!!!!!

Oh, excuse be.

I'll be ok ... really. Just a lil' sdiffle. 

a total ADD post

A few observances ...

Squirrel!!! 

• Vacation is fun, but returning from vacation is not.

• I think I'd like to open a photography business. And an Etsy shop. And a quilt shop. And finish writing my book. 

Can you say focus?

• Oh, and did I mention I'm thinking of taking Violin lessons beginning next year? You know. Just because I don't have enough to do. 

It's the pits being a grown up with ADD.

• Things I need to do are: Shampoo my carpets ..... 

Oh, never mind. You don't want to hear about all that.

Squirrel!! 

So if you live in my area, and would like some pictures taken of your kids, and are willing to risk dealing with an ADD photographer, email me at the address in my About Me section at the upper right hand corner. 

For now, I've got to go make dinner, fold the laundry, go to small group, run to the store ... 

Focus ...

Focus ... 

Focus ...  

Squirrel!!!! 

Want to see a few more pics from our vacation?

Andrew got his first buck (and his first snake!) while we were gone, just as every 14 year old should. :-) And yes, those antlers are legal. Barely ... but barely is good enough.

The rest of these were taken in my Grandma's backyard, where we stayed. You'll see at the end that Summer was hanging on for dear life!

 And in conclusion of this ADD, politically incorrect post ... I'd like to say ....

Good riddance, Nancy Pelosi!!! 

Ritalin, anyone?

projects 101

Projects 101, not because this is a class ... but because that's about how many projects I have in progress right now!

Yeah, I'm exaggerating. But it seems that way sometimes.

Two posts ago, I promised (I believe I said "Scouts honor!") that I would post pics of my current projects on the next post. Then I got terribly excited about my "Jesus saved me" post, so I forgot. I guess it's ok, since I've never been a girl scout. ;-)

I digress ...

Here are the few things I'm working on:

I'm attempting to make a dent in my stash, and decided some headbands would be a good idea.

Another stash buster - hot pads!

This isn't a stash buster. This is my precious fabric that I'm attempting to make into a wall hanging for the school room. 

At first I laid it out like this, and then realized it looked kinda funky.

So I re-did it like this. I simply rotated the center of the stars so that the flowers stood upright instead of sideways. Much better!

And the table runner in back of all the headbands and hot pads is a project I failed to show you earlier. I know - I'm just a tease! 

Bedee, bedee ... that's all, folks!

Hope you enjoyed the tour. Anybody else out there busting their stash?

it is finished

I've actually had this quilt finished for about a week, and then struggled getting time to post. Ah well ... such is life in the land of Prairie Tales.

This quilt is cute, but it's also very small. I have a plans to make a larger one, and I wanted to practice with some scraps before I tried the stars with my expensive fabric. It's a little larger than a placemat, and I plan to simply hang it on a small wall somewhere in the hall upstairs. The larger one I'll make will also be a wall hanging, but in completely different colors.

I'm glad I practiced, because as you can see, my points aren't exactly perfect. Nor is any other part of the quilt, but hopefully you'll be so in love with the colors that you won't mind!

What am I working on now?

You'll find out soon!!!

What are you working on?

sneak peek

How 'bout a little sneak peek at what I've been working on in the quilting room, eh?

I'm nearly finished with the binding on the blue one. And about half way done with the burgundy. So honestly ... it won't be much longer. I'm finding out that tacking binding down isn't my favorite thing to do. I could be doing it in a manner that is more difficult than it has to be. I've never had anyone teach me, so I'm guessing at methods here. Which is kinda pathetic, but true.

Anywho ... here are a few tiny shots:

More soon!

In the meantime ... what are you working on?

burn, baby, burn

Just one question today ...

Do you think it would be a bit eccentric to burn a project that's been in progress for nearly two and a half years?

Speak now. Before I light up.

magazines, thread, and fat quarters - oh my!

I promised you a picture of my table runner that I'm working on, and I promise (pinky swear!) that I will post a few pictures soon. I'm so close to being done, I can almost see it gracefully lying on my table as it's meant to. Once I quilt the edges and put the binding on, we'll be all set.

In the meantime, I took a trip to Hancock Fabrics because I needed some more thread. Y'all know what happens when you go to Hancocks for thread, right?

That's right. You come home with more than just thread! I didn't mean to, really. I just needed some tan thread, and I decided to get the black thread for my next project while I was there. Then I wandered the aisles, found the fat quarters, and lurked in the clearance section. That's when I spotted these fat quarters (pictured below).

Who can resist fat quarters that are 60% off!? If you raised your hand, you are in the wrong place. Leave now.

I'm especially fond of the butterfly print. Unfortunately, they only had one, and the fabric lady told me they didn't sell it on a bolt. Hmmm. She also drooled all over said fat quarter. Perhaps she's not telling me the whole story, so that SHE can purchase the bolt. 

Ya' never know about those old lady fabric cutters. 

Where was I?
 

Oh, yes. My point was that it's best to simply stay away from Hancock's or JoAnn's when you just need a little thread. 

Unless of course you would also like have the money for fabric and a magazine. 

Someday, I'll learn that. 

simple woman's daybook 7//22/10

Outside My Window... Seems like the sun has been rather elusive lately. Time for it to come out with a vengeance once more!

I am thankful for... God's faithfulness.

From the kitchen... It's pretty darn clean! Lately, I've made brownies, a birthday cake, and blueberry muffins. And lots of dinners of course.

I am wearing... Blue shorts, and a blue t-shirt with an American flag on it. Woopty doo.

I am creating... I'm still on the quilt and the bread cloth (embroidery). Lame, I know.

I am going... to see my Mom and brother's in a few weeks! Woot!

I am reading... The Same Kind of Different As Me, A Lifetime of Wisdom, and The Disciplines of Grace. Too many projects at once!

I am remembering… to shampoo my carpets before school starts. I will do this. I will, I will, I WILL!

I am hoping... Ashlee and Daniel's house sells.

I am hearing... The dryer telling me the clothes are ready, the AC, and clickety click on the keyboard.

On my mind… Next school year, writing, photography, what project I could possibly make and give away  next.

I have noticed… that it's almost nap time. ;)

A Favorite Thing... Words. Music. Making music. Sunshine. Oh sorry, you said "thing."

Around the house... The laundry really is calling my name. And it's rather chilly in here. I pay good money to freeze myself out.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week.... Lunch with my sister-in-law tomorrow!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing ... A few pics, if you don't mind. Love these flowers.

**This post has been part of The Simple Woman's Daybook link up.

Wedding Rehearsal

Sometimes ... when things aren't working out ... ya' just gotta pout. Like when your baloons don't behave.

Decorating the tables ....

My sister-in-law and her hubby. The two older girls were Ashlee's flower girls. And they did a darn good job of it!

Point the camera at Jessie, and you're never sure what face you'll get. I don't know where she comes up with all of them...

The pew decorations. I think they were my favorite part of the decor in the chapel. So simple, and yet so pretty!

The very talented bridesmaid, Dennae.

Father of the bride (left), and father of the groom (right).

I totally dig this picture of the groom and best man. Shows their personalities and goofiness.

This makes me smile every time I see it. I love Eric (best man) smiling, Jessie trying to pay attention, and Ashlee in the background making sure that everyone is hopping to. ;)

Ian, the ring bearer. He took his job very seriously, as you can see.

And so did the best man and groomsman!

Andrew, Peter, and Jessie at rehearsal dinner. Andrew is behaving himself, as usual.

The happy couple.

Love the look of enjoyment on each of their faces. Makes me happy, happy, happy!

I was able to send a lot of the wedding gifts off to Ashlee and Daniel today. I will say that it was hard to let go of the quilt that Daniel's Aunt Myrna made them. Oh, and the KitchenAid that the best man's parents gave. But Jessie and Peter eventually pryed each item from my snow white knuckles and snuck them out the door and off to the Post Office.

They're uber helpful like that.

That's it! Well, for now anyway. I still have the reception and sending off pics to show. So stay tuned!

~Brenda

I Heart Faces - Texture!

I'm joining in the fun over at I heart faces this week. Fun = competition, ya' know. :) This week, the theme is texture. I'm obviously no professional photographer. But I love this picture of my mom-in-law. We were at a quilt show together, and this was taken right before we found out she has brain cancer. She's cute, huh? :)

(Click to enlarge)