What a difference a week makes.......

It is so hard to believe that this time last week we were having a big old snow storm and everything was in snow chaos.  Today was beautiful, sunny and 64 degrees.  A perfect spring day.  We are so blessed to have enjoyed the beautiful snow and so blessed that it didn't linger very long.  Back to normal!!

 

Several ladies came today to work on the Christmas Card Mat project with Miss Martha.

Meredith (my daughter-in-law) trying to decide how to place her cards.  This was the first class Meredith has taken with me (or Miss Martha) and I hope she'll be excited to come back for more!   

Gerry was really enjoying this project.  She was the first to finish and already talking about how many more she wants to make!  They can be addictive!! 

Lori was busy cutting and planning her mat as she worked.  I believe this was her first time here also.  I'm trying to get her hooked on sewing so we'll have to wait and see!  She loved the new "carrots and hares" project, especially since her last name is Hare! 

Hmmm.........Sandra muses.......which card do I choose next?  Her mat is looking great! 

Carla asks for a little help from Miss Martha 

Now that the cards are all cut out, let's get them placed.................... 

A little assistance from the expert! 

After the ladies left, I had some work that needed to be done.......then off to the dye kitchen to dye a few pots of red wool for tomorrow's class.  It was so beautiful outside and I had the door open and the fresh air flowing in..........and the pots simmering.......just look at the red wool just waiting to be turned into a Santa! 

I dyed several shades of red so there will be plenty for the ladies to choose from.  We're doing All Through the Night's Santa pattern tomorrow.  So far everyone that has taken the class has really enjoyed it and quite a few have reported back that they have finished their Santa's.  See, this working on Christmas projects early is a good thing!!

 

I can't wait for Thursday when we're supposed to be at least 70 degrees to get back in the dye kitchen......I need to do some chick yellow!

 

Hope you're busy enjoying the weather and doing a little stitching.

Day Two of Snowed In

My husband has been out of town all week.  His company put him up in a hotel so he could be on site for meetings with people who came down from snowy Pennsylvania.  Well, with the impending snow storm, I heard that we were supposed to also have an ice storm.  The last time we had ice our heating unit was filled with ice and wouldn't work.  We literally had to use a hair dryer to try and de-thaw the ice that was inside the unit.  So I came up with the bright idea of covering the unit through the rest of that storm so we could have heat.  We put up an A-frame ladder with a huge umbrella on top.  That worked.

 

So fast forward and now we have the same scenario about to happen.  Except my husband is not here to help me.  So outside I go, before the storm gets here, in my sweatpants, pajama shirt (it was a warm one) and old ratty sweater, my husband's winter coat and his gloves.  No idea where mine were.  Also, I had a red knitted hat on which made me look pretty pitiful.  I go to the shed, muscle the huge ladder off the hooks, carry it to the heating unit, get my huge umbrella, climb the ladder, tie the umbrella to the ladder and create my cover.  I shared this with a friend.....I kept thinking to myself, thank goodness the neighbors can't see me back here in this state.  Then I started thinking. hmmmmmm......what if I fall of this tall ladder (which is much taller in person than it looks in the picture!!).  Might be a good idea if someone knew I was back here.  In any event I got the contraption put together and was rounding the corner to go inside when I saw a 4" x 4" log that was going to eventually be a birdhouse post.  I carried that back to my contraption and wedged that between the ladder and the house just in case it got windy and blew over my ladder.  That wouldn't do at all!!

So here's my make-do cover for the heater.  My husband is going to build a cover this spring but we needed it now!!  Hmmmm.......wonder if I can find something cute on Pinterest for him to build!!

And here it is in the snow doing it's job. 

And here it is the next morning after snow and ice came through.  Looks like I made "the right choice"!!  It worked like a champ! 

Worked on some kits this morning, putting together thread packs.  Kits are wonderful but there sure is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into them.  I'm making these for the Vintage View Quilt Show that will be in Raleigh in March. 

And while I was in my room working, it started snowing again.  Two days in a row!!  Enough already.  But I have to admit, I'm getting lots of work done.  Miss all you ladies but hey, I'm being productive! 

So while I'm working this afternoon I called my sister to see how she was doing.  They were getting more snow and she said she heard we had some snow.  Well, long story short, she sent me this picture of what their snow looked like after last night.  I would say we got off pretty easy after seeing this picture.  My son also sent me a video of his dog out in the snow today and said they had 18".  Again, we fared pretty well all things considered.  And what's great about being in the south is we'll be in the 60's in a few days! 

Made this sweet little spool pincushion this afternoon.  Think I'll make some more of these for the show. 

And the carrots I shared with you yesterday are now put together in a table mat.  All I need to do is stitch down those bunnies and hand it off to Laura to do a little creative quilting.  See, spring is just around the corner!

 

Hope you're all STILL enjoying our little snowfall and finding some time to do a little stitching. 

It's Snowing Carrots in my Room!!

It may be snowing outside but in my workroom it's blooming carrots!!!  I finally have my 24 carrots completed for a project I've been working on.  Now to find some bunnies to play in my carrots! 

Hope you're all warm and safe during this storm that is coming to our area.  I just say STAY AWAY ICE!!!!! 

 

Hmmm...........stitching by candlelight possibly........just like Little House on the Prairie!

A New Blog and a Fun Trip

OK, the hackers have gotten the better of me.  A friend worked and worked on my computer and still the hacker is there.  So I decided to start a new blog and see how it goes.  If it happens on this blog, then I will find a new server.  I apologize to everyone for any issues you have had with the other site.  I just wish people would stop doing bad things on computers!!!!

 

With that said, my first post is one with lots of pictures from a retreat that I attended with friends in January.  This was a first time retreat at a farmhouse in Washington, NC.  There were five of us and we spent a fun weekend sewing and hand stitching.  I took three projects with me and worked on all three but got hung up on selvedges for the most part.  I have decided to keep collecting selvedges and make a quilt!!  Won't that be grand!!! 

I believe Betty is taking something apart here.  She put lots together too! 

Kathy was trying to finish up some blocks.  I think she got quite a bit accomplished! 

Debby brought her Calendar Girls embroidery pieces to work on.  Whew, that's a lot of stitching ahead of her!!

Debby next to her famous wool crazy quilt.  It is absolutely spectacular to see this all together in person.  I promise my pictures won't do this piece justice.  She decided to hang it in the farmhouse since that's where a lot of her ideas came from. 

Debby finished the binding on this quilt.  She said that was her goal to get done during the retreat, if nothing else.  Beautiful!!! 

Back to the machine......

Time for a little hand work 

Still working on this Calendar Girl..... 

Debby and I took a walk to a small family cemetery on the property.  There were four graves......wonder how many of these family cemetery's there are around the country.  I know my family has a couple in the mountains of West Virginia. 

Love this old barn on the property. 

Another family home right next to the farmhouse we were staying in.  Could be another retreat location!!!!  Just saying................. 

Smokehouse out back.....my Mammaw had one of these. 

Front porch rocking.......except it was too cold.  But wouldn't it be fun to sit out here in the summer and do a little stitching!

This was an old building not far from the farmhouse erected by The Charitable Brotherhood.  Apparently they were neighbors who helped neighbors back in the day.  Imagine!! 

A church not far from the farmhouse.  I love old white churches.  We walked around the cemetery and I took pictures of lots of the headstones, some dating back to the early 1800's. 

The day we were leaving, we decided to go to Washington for a visit.  I've never been to that town and we thought it would be fun.  We did some driving around and looking, some shopping, and then it was time for lunch.  I've been hearing for years about Bill's Hotdogs from Debby and Kathy so of course, we had to eat at the famous Bill's. 

This lady has worked at Bill's since it opened, I believe in the 50's, or maybe 60's.   

Kathy and Debby said there are always lines at Bill's, sometimes wrapping around the block.  We were lucky today that it only wrapped around the inside of the store. 

This picture was hanging on the wall......there's the same lady from the picture above at the end of the line.  Cool to think of the history in a place like this. 

THEN...........and

NOW!!  I know this lady thought I was crazy taking her picture after I ordered my two hotdogs all the way!!  But she's history!   

There were decorated crabs all over the town.  I got pictures of a couple of them.  Pretty cool. 

Enjoying our hotdogs down by the water.  A bit cool but still enjoyed the scenery.  And the hotdogs were good.  Very different and good. 

This was a fancy mosaic crab. 

And my camera battery died!!  No more pictures.  Signaling us that it was time to pack it in and head home.  Thanks Debby for such a great weekend.  Lots of fun and adventures.