What a Special Honor

Just give me a minute and let me toot my own horn.

Today I got a letter from our NC Congresswoman, Virginia Foxx

She was thanking me for being a volunteer in my community with Project Linus.

I was very touched!

She even sent me a copy of the new paper article for my own records.

Simple, so simple...

when i send a gift in the mail, i like to send a card

and usually i like to send a small card

i don't like the full size greeting cards

i always have small cards, but found out last night, that i was out

i have plenty of blank cards and this will work best with blank cards

 this was a full size card envelope

cut it in half, using your ruler and rotary cutter work best

 full size blank card

cut in half, the same way as the envelope

here you have two small cards with a slip in envelope

you'll have a half a flap on the envelope, tuck that inside the card and tape it down with some clear tape

waaahhhh-laaaa two small cards

simple, right?

i also do this with those poly mailer bags

most of the items i mail are small, so no need in a big mailer bag

enjoy!

Thanks Becky!

Like I said on Facebook, "Becky you spoil me".

She sent me a box full of goodies, and I mean full.

It was a bit heavy, as E would say.

Because I'm to lazy to take pictures, you'll have to use your imagination.

There was home made chex mix in a Santa tin,

ribbon

zippers

fabric

a TURTLE

zipper pulls (for me to make more earrings)

and a rotary blade sharpener.

See, I wasn't kidding was I?

Thanks so much Becky!

I found Becky in blog land, or she might have found me. She lives in NC as well.

Come to find out, she grew up right here in the same county as I live now. She vows not to come back to this county.  I haven't gotten to the bottom of that story yet.  Maybe soon?

Even if you don't come back, I still love ya!

Go here to read my latest review.

A Dog for Kentlee

So, I have this awesome trick for my brother on Christmas Day.

My brother knows I've been wanting a dog.  Common sense keeps me from getting one.

Anyway, I'll tell my brother I got Kentlee (his 11 month old) a dog for Christmas.

Right when his jaw drops and he starts to yell, I'll pull out this adorable stuffed Scottie dog.

How cute is this?

I didn't have a pattern for this, I made it by looking at Aunt Spicy's.

Check hers out here.  She's made tons, I bet she could make them with her eyes closed.

I think on the next one, I could stuff it more on the legs and all the corners.  Live and learn.

I tied a mint green shiny ribbon around his neck.  I also stitched the ribbon on by hand.  Just in case that Kentlee decides to remove said ribbon, someone should see him before he's finished. (hopefully)

Thanks Aunt Spicy for the inspiration.

Merry Christmas to all!

A Really Quick Stocking Stuffer Gift

i saw this tutorial this morning over at bitty bits & pieces

these are super easy to make and fast

Sashing DONE.........

Yah...The tree time BOM is now sashed.

I won't be doing any quilting on this, it has lots of buttons on it and I'm not so good at quilting around all that.  I thought this would be a small hanging.

haha, it's the full size of the recliner.

my tree to tree quilt line fell that I had outside, so I had to take this picture inside.

I'm pleased with this.

I heard through the grapevine that she's doing a "boots" BOM starting in Jan 2011.

I think i'll do that one too.

Tree Time BOM-Finished!

these are blocks 11 & 12

I stayed caught up the entire year until these two blocks.

I just fell behind.

Now, i'll have to trim them all to the same size, and find some sashing for them

either green or red.

I used the same background in all of them, as well as the same color of thread, and used all the same Christmas fabrics throughout.

I'm going to start trimming these and see how they all look together.

This was my first BOM and I loved every minute of it.  Thanks so much Molly!

My first written recipe.

One Dish Italian Chicken with Veggies

I've been making this for about 6 years now.

I used to make it for one serving, and now it's grown to this huge pan.

Let me remind you, I don't like to cook, I don't like to have 3-4 different burners on with something different in each pot.  It's not my style.

I like one pot meals, or one pan meals.

I love my veggies........

And if you do, this is the meal for you....

4-boneless, skinless Italian flavored chicken breasts (or you can use plain)-chunked

4-med. size potatoes, peeled and diced

1-bell pepper, sliced

1-large onion, sliced in half moons

3 Roma tomatoes, quartered

lay it all out on a baking sheet, being sure that it has some small sides

I always line my pan will foil for easier clean up

salt and pepper to your liking

drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil over entire dish

then I add a few tablespoons of butter (you can omit this step)

cover with foil and bake on 350 for 30 mins

after 30 mins take the top foil off and leave in for 15 more mins or until chicken is done

enjoy!

Christmas Stars is Finished!

i really like the way this turned out

i didn't run it through the wash like i wanted too

i don't pre-wash my fabric and i was afraid the red would bleed onto the white

i'll let my mom find out if it bleeds when she needs to wash it, lol

i just quilted around each star

the lone star on the back is the label....

i hope she likes it

she don't really show emotion so it's always hard to tell

Christmas Stars

I got my GO out and wasn't sure what I was going to make.

I just knew I wanted to use my GO.

Then I remembered these Christmas fabric circles that Lola sent to me (awhile back).

Then I remembered this stars die set that Gene sent to me.

I had already cut 2 circles of fabric when I realized I needed to put heat-n-bond on the back.

Get out the heat-n-bond and iron it onto several circles, then start cutting stars again.

I love the hear the fabric with heat-n-bond on the back go through the GO, you can hear it cut through the paper.  NICE

I put the stars onto white fabric in no certain order, some big, some small.

I was going to leave them on there and not blanket stitch around them at all.

Then some of the stars points started to lift up.

Ok, I'll do a simple stitch and run it through the washer when done and maybe it will fray a little bit.

This will be a table runner for my mom......because she hosts Christmas every year at her house.

At one time we all said we would take turns..........that never happened.  

If it wasn't at her house, I'm not sure it would still be Christmas.

I haven't sewed quilty stuff in awhile, so I wanted you all to know that I still remember how to sew. ;)

More "green" Christmas Decor.

I saw this tutorial over at Life with the Crazies today.  

I knew when I saw it, they would make the perfect gift for my neighbors (that have already delivered their gifts to us). 

That is the old style (not so energy efficient) light bulbs.

I used sparkle mod podge instead of glitter.

I might try glitter tomorrow.

I'm not a fan of glitter, as I get it everywhere.

I even thought I would get some smaller bulbs and make a family of snowmen.

Thanks Michaela for this tutorial!

What a perfect way to "go green".

Ya'll all know that kick I'm on right now.

How about a "green" stocking?

 I think Santa would be proud of my "green" stocking.

Winner of Earring Supplies

So, I put your names in a jar and pulled out Carrie P.

Carrie email me your snail mail and I'll get these out to you this week.

tonyahmay@aol.com

Thanks to Gene for my fancy, snazzy signature below.

Anyone Interested in these?

it's all earring making "stuff"

leave a comment if you are interested, if more than one person is, I'll draw a name

okay?

we're enjoying the snow today!  :)

Thank You

thanks so much to everyone who helped me yesterday with my "new" machine

you emailed me tips,

you emailed me links,

and

you even scanned copies of your manuals for this same machine

i knew i could count on you all to help me


i can wind bobbins now, and it sews great

thanks again

Singer Futura II 920..Questions

(sorry for the pictures, I used my cell phone)

(see computer screen in the background, i'm googling everything futura)

I saw this machine this morning at my local thrift store.  I can never find anything "good" in a thrift store, so I was excited to come across this.  It's heavy and it's metal.  I've always heard those make the best machine.  I couldn't beat the price, so I thought "what the heck, I'll take a chance".  Also, the lady that checked me out said if it don't work she would give me my money back.

(click to see better and HELP me)

It powers on, light bulb works and the motor runs, and the foot powers up and down.

I can't figure out how in the heck to make a bobbin.  The center of the bobbin holes is a cross, and very small, so I can't see what it fits onto.  Luckily there was a bobbin in all the "extras" that had thread on it.  BINGO...we'll see if it works.  NOT....I can't load the bobbin.  Shouldn't I know how to do this?  

I have the old Singer Spartan, but the bobbin loads just like my two brothers.  Yes, now I have 4 machines.  Gosh, I'm loving life!

Okay, back to the problem at hand.  Anyone know how to make a bobbin or load it?  I can buy the manual for $8.00 and I guess that might be what I need to do.

all the extras, loads of stuff here

i'm thinking this is a walking foot?  I don't have one of these for my other machines.

The previous owner has her name etched in the machine on top.  Guess I could look her up on Facebook.  haha



Have you hugged your tree today?

evan decorated it all by himself

can't you tell?

see the gaps of no ornaments?

i'm not going to fix it either, he's so proud!

thank goodness the lights are already on the tree

remember to hug your tree

Update

Please forgive me for being a terrible "updater"....

My test results.....

they did find 3 small lumps that are too small to biopsy.

They are going to keep an eye on them and will do another mammo in May.

Accuquilt's First Black Friday Sale

Because you follow my blog, you get this sneak peek.

Aren't you glad you follow me now?

Serena the Model

yep, didn't ya'll know she was a model?

thing is...she works just for me....haha

she commented on Facebook that she liked my zipper earrings

and since her and her sister are just alike and sweet as can be

i sent them both a pair

she blogged this picture and me yesterday on her blog

go check her out

thanks serena, i love ya girl

I've been cheating on my fabric stash.

with these....

how cool are these?

Do you see what I see?

you might need to click on the picture....

see that warped bobbin?

what in the world?

how does that happen?

i've been looking at it for quite a while...

i know i made this bobbin on my old machine, cause i had the new machine set up for embroidery, this was a embroidery bobbin thread bobbin.....i know it's a lot finer thread, but i'm not really sure why this happened.....

anywho, i'll wind it on another bobbin and maybe not let it get that full and see what happens...

thank you all so much for your emails, thoughts and prayers....

Vote for Project Linus

Please go vote for Project Linus to win a $50,000 donation from JoAnn's.

Craft for a Cause

A Sliver of the Moon

(click on this picture to appreciate it's beauty)

see the sliver of the moon?

for me, it's:

beautiful

peaceful

soothing

thank you Lord for this amazing view

i'll take it as your way of telling me

"it's all gonna be alright"

My worst fear...

(sorry if your male and reading this)

i'm re-living for the second time in my life

i have an "issue" with my left breast...

my family history of breast cancer is off the charts..

(mom = one time breast cancer survivor

aunt = two time breast cancer survivor

aunt = did not survive breast cancer

grandma = did not survive breast cancer)

now you know why it's my worst fear?

i waited a week before calling my dr, i wanted to be sure i hadn't bumped it and forgot about it, so i was giving the soreness time to go away

yeah, soreness

people have been telling me, it's sore?  then it's not cancer!

not true.....my mom's both times and my aunts both times were sore and hurt.

not sure why, but that's been their history

my first time (not cancer) but a lump, was not sore and it was removed when i was 24

it's so sore i can't bump against it and i'm wearing a sports bra around the clock, can't stand to go without it, gravity is not being nice to me

i have a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound on the 12th

please just pray my mind will be some what at ease.....with the 12th being on a Friday i don't expect results that day

love you all

Trash to Treasures

ok, maybe not "treasures"...

Has it really been a week since I last posted?

I'm so sorry!

Here's what I've been up to since then........

all of the below are some sort of wrapper and would have been trash

i know what you are thinking??  how??  aren't those wrappers too thin??

yes, they are........i've mod podged them onto vinyl

how awesome are these?

go ahead, feed my ego!