Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving


Happy Thanksgiving to All. My family has much to be thankful for this year. We have had a few hardships and continue to have them. My father fell off a ladder yesterday and broke his ankle in four places. He has surgery this morning and is doing well. As I well know he will have a long recovery but should be fine. Mom and I are beginning to feel just a little jinxed.
Even with all the medical hardships we have so much to be thankful for. We have a wonderful extended family and many great friends, and we live in the greatest country in the world, where we are free to celebrate Thanksgiving in anyway we want. I will celebrate with my family today, feasting and thanking God for my many blessings. I hope that you all can do the same.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Coffee Sleeve Bonanza

Look what I did yesterday! I was very busy. I am a bad Aunt and always wait til Thanksgiving to deliver my niece's birthday presents.(Their Birthdays are in September and November) I had so much fun that I made one for my daughter my sister-in-law and one for me.

This is a shot of the fronts, then the backs. I use a cardboard sleeve as a pattern adding about 1/4 inch around for a seam allowance. I add some fusible batting in between the layers of fabric.

I use buttons from my stash to hold the ends together.

They are all reversible with embroidery or applique on one side and decorative buttons or charms on the other.

I sew the two sets of buttons on at the same time.
I think they all turned out great and I can't wait to give them to the girls with gift cards from their favorite coffee shop. I also can't wait to use mine.
Have a great weekend.
Pam



Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Fall Decor




The roses are blooming on in the yard and I picked a few, added some rosemary, and a few fallen leaves and mums. Lovely!








I have been admiring this tree for years and finally decided to capture it in a picture. It is so beautiful in the fall colors.








Mom has done some lovely counted cross-stitch pictures and we like to change them with the seasons. This one with the foxes has a story that goes with it. I started this picture about 25 years ago... finished about a third of it, and put it away, thinking I would get back to it. Mom found it recently, and decided to finish it for me. So it was a joint effort, and only took many years to complete. I love it! The colors are perfect for the dining room.



The second picture depicts fall scenes, and always makes me smile, thinking of everything that goes on in just a few months. The time flies by so quickly; it's good to savor every minute. I'm thankful for so many blessings.

Vintage Purse

I got this beautiful Vintage Leon of California bag at a local thrift store. Isn't it gorgeous, but something was missing.
Bling is what it needed. I have had these filigree leaves forever. I attempted to sew them on, but the fabric was too tough, so I settled on E6000 and glued those puppies on.

So here it is now my upcycled vintage bag with just a little bling for Fall.

Have a great day and I will be posting my Christmas purse soon.


Sunday, November 14, 2010

Thanksgiving Decor

I usually decorate for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Fall, but this year things have been different. I couldn't get my decorations out of the garage storage room this year on my crutches, and really wasn't up to putting things up anyway, but lately I have been feeling better. I had a few things stored in the linen closet and was feeling inspired by all the other great blogs out there.
Craftily Ever After has this great Keep Calm printable that I printed out and framed in my 40% off Michael's frame.

I got this great plate at the goodwill months ago and it looks great with this vintage turkey printed on card stock. (Sorry about the smudged glass )




I stitched this from a coloring page that I got off the Internet on a linen napkin. It turned out great, and I love it. Im sorry I don't know where it came from. Coloring pages can make great pattern for embroidery.


It looks great on top of the TV with a pumpkin candle and an Owl.


I also whipped out this Give Thanks Banner from At Second Street.

Thank you all you wonderful bloggers out there and have a wonderful Sunday evening .

Pam

Friday, November 12, 2010

Beautiful Fall Drive

Yesterday was my 21st wedding anniversary, as well as Veteran's Day. John and I have always been proud to share this day with the many brave soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors that have kept our country safe.



With both John and I (but especially me) moving slower than usual we decided to go on a drive and spend the day together. We headed out of town towards Tulelake Wildlife Refuge and the Lava Beds National Park. It turned into a beautiful sunny day. I took my new camera to play with and thought I would share some of the better shots with you.

Mount Shasta


Big Buck in the grasslands near Tulelake. On the other side of the road are alfalfa fields that keep him and his herd of lovelies well fed.


I think the rock formations are so interesting and beautiful.


Hope you all had a good Veteran's Day. I have been doing a couple of Thanksgiving projects and I will share soon


Saturday, November 6, 2010

Making Progress

As you can see I am getting well enough to start being creative again (Scruffy doesn't leave my side for long these days). I will be stuck in this boot til the end of the month but I am getting around a lot better. All of our friends and neighbors as well as my Mom, Dad and Grandmother have been terrific. Mom stayed with us for a month and never had to cook dinner, the meals began coming in the day I came home from the hospital. Our neighbors and good friends the Bair family took over our farming operation the day after John went into the hospital. We are blessed in so many ways and this very difficult time has been a real chance to thank God for all that we have and all the wonderful people he has put in our lives. John continues to get stronger all the time and has turned into a fabulous chef, and is taking wonderful care of me. My kids are getting tired of taking care of Mom and Dad and want to once again be the center of attention, but they have been great. I know that many of you were praying for me and my family and you can be sure that those prayers were heard. We will be well and whole in no time, and I can not wait to return to my old boring life where I am the caretaker.

We're Back!

I am home again, after four and a half weeks with Pam & John, they are now on their own and doing great. John has no more restrictions, and is building his strength. Pam is still on crutches, but is mending, and getting around a little better. Between the two of them, and with the help of their kids, they are a good team. I went back for the day, and may do that again just to catch them up on chores. It is great to see them more independent and to be in my own home again.
Our cousin, Steve is getting married this weekend, so Pam and I joined forces to gift him and his bride Jennifer with some hand-crafted things.
A pretty package went off day before yesterday, so they should have it before the big day.
Pam embroidered some dishtowels, and I knit some dishcloths, and added a couple of bottles of liquid hand soap.

The close ups are of Pam's beautiful embroidery.






Did you notice the new look Pam has given us? Those are her ducks at the farm.

It is good to be back to crafting and thinking about other things. We are all so grateful for family and friends, and for all the prayers and blessings that have happened along the way. Even the weather cooperated and I didn't have to brave the snow and ice on the mountain roads between here and there.

The roses are still blooming here... and the fall colors are so beautiful. Thoughts turn to Thanksgiving and all the things we have to be thankful for. When I was walking O'Reilly this morning, two different formations of geese flew over us. They were very low, and you could hear the air rushing through their wings, and their honking calls. I love autumn.