Thank yous

A quick thank you to etsy seller "whiteserenade" for featuring my romantic roses tote bag in her treasury! If you want to check out all the beautiful shabby chic rose items she featured, act quick before her treasury expires. Here's the link.

Also, a big thank-you to my husband and boys for helping me hobble around the house and for pitching in to help with laundry, dishes, cooking and cleaning since I fell on Sunday and sprained my ankle. You just don't realize how much we depend on being able to get around, painlessly, to accomplish everything we do in the day.

When I fell on Sunday, while packing Christmas decorations back to the basement, I thought for sure that I had broke my foot. I completely missed the bottom step of our basement landing and came down on the side of my right foot. Since my arms were full of boxes, my hands were not readily available to assist me and down I went. I am still amazed that I escaped the catastrophe with just a badly sprained ankle and some road rash (from the plaster wall) on my arm. I am able to hobble around a little. Anthony says I look like a pirate with a peg leg :)

It's Christmas Time Again

by Bob Lazzar-Atwood

Put your problems on probation

Run your troubles off the track,

Throw your worries out the window

Get the monkeys off your back.

Silence all your inner critics

With your conscience make amends,

And allow yourself some happiness

It's Christmas time again!

Call a truce with those who bother you

Let all the fighting cease,

Give your differences a breather

And declare a time of peace,

Don't let angry feelings taint

The precious time you have to spend,

And allow yourself some happiness

It's Christmas time again!

Like some cool refreshing water

Or a gentle summer breeze,

Like a fresh bouquet of flowers

Or the smell of autumn leaves,

It's a banquet for the spirit

Filled with family, food and friends,

So allow yourself some happiness

It's Christmas time again!

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge

Start the year off right with creating a beautiful pillowcase or two for American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine's "1 Million Pillowcase Challenge" for charity.

What a fun way to brighten someone's day and a great excuse to dig into your stash pile or go shopping!!!

There are hundreds of shops in every state participating in the challenge. All you need to do is visit the APQ website and find the one nearest you, OR you can participate individually. Everything you need is at the site, including some great FREE pattern downloads!

I am going to make a couple of cases with a soft flannel side and a cool cotton side. I love flannel, but I also love to be able to flip my pillow over to a cool side.

What kind of case will you create????

A Long Overdue Post

Wow, how bad I have been! So long between posts!


I could make a list an arm long of excuses, like I have been sick with the nastiest cold, my son had oral surgery, we got a new kitten . . . . ooops I wasn't going to go on and on!


Well it is the holiday season, and I spent the weekend following Thanksgiving and the first weekend of this month at the local Christmas Fair. Here are some photos of my booth, which was
a mix of vintage collectibles and handmade items.





And we do have a new kitty! Her name is E-Z (thanks to Ben) and she is adorable and very mellow!


I am busy finishing my Christmas shopping and shipping off packages, but will also be listing a slew of new {vintage and newer} patterns over the next week or so. I am working on the image editing right now. There will be LOTS of doll patterns in this group of listings, so check back in a day or two for the slideshow update.

New Items in my Etsy Shop:

Movie Recommendation

We went to see The Blind Side on Sunday with our two boys, Anthony 15 and Benjamin 13. I have to give this movie a solid five boxes of popcorn. What a great family movie for those with kids that have outgrown animated monsters and Disney fairytales.

My boys are huge football fans and have followed Michael Oher's career. I think the true story portrayed in The Blind Side only solidified their admiration of Mr. Oher. It was best stated on the Purple State of Mind blog: "But The Blind Side is a much more than a football story. It is a tribute to families, to the power of adoption, to the practical difference one family can make. At a time when we desperately need heroic actions, The Blind Side delivers refreshing role models."

Sandra Bullock gives, in my opinion, an Oscar worthy performance portraying Leigh Anne Tuohy. Tim McGraw is surprising appealing in the role of her husband, Sean. Additional stars include newcomer Quinton Aaron who plays Oher; Lily Collins (daughter of musician Phil Collins) who plays the Tuohy's daughter, Collins; Kathy Bates as Miss Sue; and Jae Head as son Sean, Jr.

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and their adopted son,

Ole Miss lineman Michael Oher, are the

focus of the movie "The Blind Side,"

starring Sandra Bullock.

Busy . . . .

I've been busy getting ready for our local Christmas Faire taking place the next two weekends.


Finished this seamstress' apron last night.


It has an attached pin cushion and multiple pockets, including one for your scissors!




I revamped a sewing basket.


I made several bags from this large piece of heavy muslin fabric that I thrifted. It is just a dream to work with!


I added some sheet scraps to this one and quilted it for weight.



This morning I adorned this thrifted crystal wreath with some ribbon and shells . . . . not sure how I feel about it (?).



All of my items are made from thrifted and recycled materials!

Free Pattern Friday GIVEAWAY #55

I thought I would share what I have been working on lately. I have been hoarding colorful yarn scraps to make this afghan. Mine won't be quite so uniform in color . . . I will use ivory where shown, but I haven't decided on green or ??? yet. I will be using bright colors for the floral centers and the "leaves" will be different shades of green (scraps). I just love this afghan . . . it reminds me of the old grandma's flower garden quilts!

Posy Afghan

MATERIALS: Worsted-weight yarn— 35½ ozs. white, 29 ozs. green, 4 ozs. dk. yellow, 6 yds. flower color for each motif; tapestry needle; H hook or size needed to obtain gauge.
GAUGE: 7 dc = 2"; 3 dc rows = 2".
FINISHED SIZE: 43" x 63". Motif is 5½" across.
MOTIF (make 95)
Rnd 1: With dk. yellow, ch 4, sl st in first ch to form ring, ch 1,12 sc in ring, join with sl st in first sc (12). Fasten off.
Rnd 2: Join flower color with sl st in first st, ch 3; for petal, 4 dc in next st, drop lp from hook, insert hook in top of first dc of group, pull dropped lp through st, ch 1; (dc in next st, petal in next st) around, join with sl st in top of ch 3 (6 petals, 6 dc). Fasten off.
Rnd 3: Join green with sc in any dc, ch 4, skip next petal, (sc in next dc, ch 4, skip next petal) around, join with sl st in first sc (6 ch lps).
Rnd 4: Sl st in next ch-4 lp, (sc, hdc, 2 dc, tr, 2 dc, hdc, sc) in each ch-4 lp around, join as before. Fasten off.
Rnd 5: Join white with sc in any tr, 2 sc in same st, * [hdc in next st, dc in next st, skip next 2 sts; for tr front post, yo 2 times, insert hook around post of next sc on rnd 3, yo, pull lp through, (yo, pull through 2 lps on hook) 3 times; skip next 2 sts, dc in next st, hdc in next st], 3 sc in next st; repeat from * 4 times; repeat between [], join.

Rnd 6: Sl st in next st, ch 3, 2 dc in same st, (dc in next 7 sts, 3 dc in next st) around to last 7 sts, dc in last 7 sts, join with sl st in top of ch 3. Fasten off.

Rnd 7: Join green with sc in center dc of any 3-dc group, 2 sc in same st, (sc in next 9 sts, 3 sc in next st) around to last 9 sts, sc in last 9 sts, join as before. Fasten off.
Working in back lps only, matching corners, sew mo­tifs tog in 5 strips with 11 motifs and 4 strips with 10 motifs; beginning and ending with 11-motif strips, sew strips tog.
EDGING: Working around outer edge in sts and in joining seams, join green with sc in first joining seam on 1 long edge; *for shell, (skip next 2 sts, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 sts, sc in next st or joining) 44 times; for joined shell, skip next 2 sts, 3 dc in next st, si st back into center dc of last shell, 2 dc in same st as last 3 dc, skip next 2 sts, sc in next st; (shell, joined shell, shell 5 times, joined shell) 3 times, shell, joined shell*, shell 7 times; re­peat between first *, shell 6 times, skip next 2 sts, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 sts, join with sl st in first sc. Fasten off.