A quiet, rainy day.......

It's raining in my world today and I'm so grateful.  City Utilities has been replacing gas lines in our neighborhood (thank you) for the last few weeks and it's left our yards with no grass and only this fine, dry dirt that just blows around.  I've tried to water but it's been hot so it doesn't last long.  I'm certain that all those with allergies are having a terrible time.  My windows have been open so needless to say, I need to dust.

 



Judy, Jean, and I are taking off on Sunday and headed to Door County, Wisconsin, for a very relaxing few days.  We've been there several times and love it, especially in the fall.....

 

 



We're staying in Fish Creek and no, there won't be snow on the ground but we love this little grocery store which is right around the corner from our cottage.  It's fun to run in here and pick up a sandwich and a bottle of wine for dinner.  It's such a quaint, pretty little village.

 

 

It's just a beautiful area in the on Lake Michigan that makes you feel like you're on Cape Cod....

 

 

I'm pulling out the flannel shirts and sweaters since the temps are to be in the 50's.  May even take my Uggs! 

 

I love taking projects to work on.  I've never had an issue with carsickness so since Judy is driving her new Jeep, I can even sew in the car (I'm sure she'll love all the little pieces of wool and thread left behind)!!!!

 

 

Haven't decided if I'll take the laptop or not.  The camera will be with me at all times and if I pack the laptop, I'll show pictures.  If not, I'll post them when we get home.

 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

 

 





Dog Days of Summer........

It's been an incredibly long streak of upper-90's and I'm sooooo tired of it.  It saps me of all energy and there's so much I need to accomplish.  Why is it that when you have crummy weather and need to stay inside, it's so hard to have any ambition?????  It has taken all my energy to just keep things watered (not an easy task)!!!!

So this is some of the handwork that I've managed to finish.



I found the wonderful early blue dough bowl and decided to fill it with rag balls.  Love that blue is showing up again.  The black cats and pumpkins are just a primitive idea I saw and wanted to try.  We'll see if customers like them.

I made two of these pillows last year and sold them.  They take a lot of time but I love making them.....

 

I have company coming next week.  Barb lived in the little town of LaRussell with us and we were very close.  She sometimes stayed with us while her parents traveled for their business.  She lives in California now but loves to come back for our reunions.....this is her 50th high school reunion.  This time she's bringing her daughter for a first-time visit.  So next week is packed full and the next week we'll be getting ready for our Fall Open House.....

 

 

It's called "never a dull moment"!!  Hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!!!!

 





Wonderful Easter weekend.....

We were so blessed to have a wonderful holiday weekend.  We started Thursday with a birthday dinner at Galloway Grill for my 2 grandgirls who turned 10 then off to Maundy Thursday services at church.  Saturday was the egg drop where they send a helicopter and drop 16,000 eggs in the field next to church.

G'daughter Phoebe and daughter Allison.....

 My kids.....

A good time was had by all.  The pictures were all taken by my phone because after packing up my new camera & all the gear, I realized I had left my card at home in the computer......bummer.

We always like to go to sunrise service on Easter and it was beautiful.....so meaningful!  Then everyone came to my house for lunch and a cake for the girls birthday.....do we drag birthdays out or what!!!!  The weather could not have been more perfect and it was a wonderful day.

Stella and Phoebe opening more presents.  Then we had cheesecake and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Sisters.....

Brother and sister-in-law....

The other gramma (SIL John's mom, Pam) and all the grandchildren.....

 

I loved this picture of Phoebe.....she just is a great subject for my camera.  As a matter of fact, they all are!

Phoebe and her grandmother, Pam....

 

Sister, Judy, and some of her family came over in time for cake.  These cousins don't get to see each other very often anymore but when they do, they have such a good time.

 

 

It was a wonderful day and I feel so blessed to have this wonderful family.  I also am so grateful that spring is finally here and we can enjoy all this outside.....yea!!!!

 

Also, I told you that I would share my placemats and napkins with you when I was finished.  They turned out really well, I thought, and the napkins really coordinate well.  The ticking seems to go with almost all the fabric I have.  These are the ones that are now at Leola's....

 

 

Basically, there can be six placemats (front & back) made from 2 yds. of fabric and the least expensive fabric I found to use is $7.99 per yd., it takes most of one day to make them so I marked them $9.00 ea.  The ticking was $12.99 per yd. & I brought it home and laundered it so the napkins would be softer.  It was possible to get 6 napkins out of  one yard of fabric but the rolled hem took more time then was expected.  I've never liked the rolled hem that my serger makes which would be a lot faster.  I marked the napkins $4.00 each.  We'll see how they do.

 

Hope everyone has a good week and are able to enjoy the beautiful weather that we are in Missouri.







Beautiful, busy days.....

It's such a beautiful time of the year and it seems a constant effort to appreciate every minute of it instead of worrying about all that needs to be accomplished.  Seems there's this small window of opportunity to get things done -- yard, garden, taxes, winter clothes put away, summer clothes brought out, all those fix-it jobs around the house that have been neglected plus a million other things that keep popping into my head (I've tried to keep a note pad with me so I don't have to leave it to my memory).  Besides all of that, I've been going to physical therapy 3 times a week for a case of tendonitis.  Oh, and did I mention keeping Leola's stocked!!!!

 

The next project I'll be attempting will be placemats.  This weekend several of us took a trip to Kansas City and I had already decided to check out a couple of my favorite stores to look for table linens.

 

Geez......I couldn't believe the prices so decided to try making them.  One set that I loved would have been around $250 for 8 placemats & napkins.  Yesterday, I made a quick trip to F.M. store (my favorite fabric store) and spent $7.99 per yard for the greatest fabric.  When I finish one, I'm going to post exactly how much fabric it took for each one and how much time it took.  We are constantly amused at people insinuating our prices are high.  They need to get out and compare (& please not with Walmart).  I've just learned to make things that I like so then if it doesn't sell, I can use them or give them as a gift.  We also have no desire to compete with China or Bangladesh.

 

We had a wonderful trip to K.C.  We went to see our friend, JoAnn, off to West Virginia where she and her husband are moving.  We'll miss her but she promises to come back frequently.  This is JoAnn with her daughter, Alex......

 

With JoAnn as our tour guide we visited all of her favorites.  We all loved the City Market.

 We were able to tour a loft in this building that was amazing.  I wanted so badly to take pictures but he's an artist and asked that we not.  It was such a treat to just be able to see it but so wanted to share it.

These were the doors in the back entrance.  We had to get on a freight elevator with no sides to ride to the third floor.

 

It was such a treat to get away for a weekend.....especially with this fun group......

 

Guess it's back to reality (taxes)!  I've vowed to have them done by Thursday so guess I'd better get busy.

 

Hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday (it's beautiful in Mo.)!

 

 

 



October, October......

It was brought to my attention today, while working at Leola's, that it had been awhile since I had posted.  It was kind of a surprise to find that I was missed......thanks, Ursula!  What could be a better time to post then the first day of October.....my favorite month.

No, this isn't today.  It was taken last year on my street when g'girl Stella was with me.  The leaves are beginning to turn and I'm noticing that it's already starting to get dark at 7:00.  My favorite thing is that I haven't had to turn the a.c. or furnace on for about 2 weeks although it gets pretty warm in the afternoons.  Traded sister, Linda, a pair of overalls for a load of kindling and have lots of wood left from last year so let those cool nights move in.....I'm ready!

Love having a needlework project going and since Holiday Open House is coming up, a pillow project was in order.  My stock of pillows is gone at the shop so need to get busy.

I've been collecting funnels for months trying to get the right sizes for trees.  Loved these when I saw them last holiday time so decided they would be perfect with all my primitives.



I'm still working on what to do for the star.  Made this one with some vines but not sure that's what I want but love the way they turned out.

This is another chair that my neighbor Dave, re-worked for me.  He loves hand-caneing and does such a wonderful job.  There are now 3 of them at Leola's sitting around the table I took in.

There are also two pressed-back chairs that are wonderful.  For some reason chairs seem to be hard to find right now.

Judy, Jean and I are getting ready to head to a big antique sale in Franklin, TN.  Can't wait!  We leave next week and plan to find some great treasures  for the holidays at Leola's.  I'll take lots of pictures and share when I get home.  Had hoped to have a new camera before this trip but haven't made a decision yet.

Hope everyone is enjoying a great fall.

Winter weather.......

It's a really yucky day in the Ozarks!  We've had rain, sleet, ice, thunder and lightening and it's still coming down.  I've built a fire (in case electricity goes off) and ready to do some sewing and maybe a little baking.

This is what it looks like around my house.  Definitely not a day to be out on the streets.  The kids have a snow day and it's their first this winter.  So I'm hoping this is winter's last ditch effort and now we can move on to spring.  So much for the reliability of the groundhog!

I saw this idea on a blog and decided to try it.  It's a toolbox that you take one side off and re-attach flat, hang it on the wall and use it for a shelf/towel rack.  I put a nice finish on it so it would not only look better but be nice and clean.

Took it to Leola's to sell.  I'm keeping my eyes open for more tool boxes because I'm loving the way it turned out.

Hope everyone has a safe and warm day.  Think I'd better put another log on the fire.

A busy weekend........

Finally finished the girls' clothes and they loved them.  I'm going to try again with Phoebe's and make it a little bigger.  Sometimes I'm amazed at how big they're getting.....after all, they are 8 1/2 yrs. old.  How did that happen?

Yes, they are twins but so different.  Phoebe is so much taller so could have used a little more fabric on the bottom but Stella's top had already been cut out....ooops!  I completely made up the pattern without them with me.  This is how I did Phoebe's....

The colors on these two pictures didn't turn out the same but they are the same fabric.

I used the original neckline and sleeves and just cut them down.  Also used the waistline as it was.

Loved the printing and it worked out perfect both front and back.

Sage decided to try a photo bomb.....so I left him in.

Sisters and I did a little antiquing on Wednesday.  Didn't find a lot of things but found this wonderful bowl.  Wish I knew more about it but feel certain it's quite old.  Picked up a couple of things that I'll do a little work on but spring open house is coming up so have to build up my inventory.

This was purchased at an auction and is actually a table top.  I have the table bottom but think this would be so great on a wall ( say over a bed).  Think I might hang it at Leola's and have the bottom if they want it.

Another busy week ahead but looks like it will be nice weather.  Hope it's a good one for you.