My, oh my. Where does the time go?! I have such good intentions but it seems I just can't keep up. I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted on the blog. Yikes! The wedding is eight weeks away (and counting down) and I'm pedalling as fast as I can. Tomorrow is the bridal shower so I thought I should catch up here. Since there will be more after the shower . . .

Here are a couple of display samples I hadn't gotten around to showing yet. If you are familiar with Sew Beautiful magazine, this dress is from one of their feature articles. (Wait a minute, that sounded funny, not this dress, ours is a re-creation.)

If you know me, you know I am not a fan of purple. But the lime green ribbon and red button in the trim really set this off.

The fabric is from a collection called Calypso. You might recognize it's the same fabric collection (different colorway) as the turquoise Bellanca bag.

Speaking of bags, this one is called the Abigail bag. I like the gathering and the tiny ruffle, such nice touches.

The back has an exposed zipper pocket. Nice. Functional. Everybody likes that. :)

And how about a Cricut-enhanced project to close? This was made for the company of a friend of mine.

I was amused at how tattered their old mail bag was. Certainly not befitting his sophistication or that of the two lovely girls who work for him.
His land development company is called Compass West. (I was trying to be clever with words/images.) He and his dad have several entities working out of the same office, thus the "York Enterprises" kind of incorporates everything.

So that's all for today. Much more to come. Shower, wedding, and a benefit for my cousin Lisa tucked in between. And then, as if there weren't enough going on there's the possibility we may have a pretty signifcant change coming along in our lives. Nothing for certain and I can't even talk about it as we haven't shared it with all our family yet. But it weighs on the mind . . . and no, we're not moving to Kentucky - chuckle,chuckle.

Wishing you a special and blessed day!

Where oh where has the time gone?! We have been back home for a month now and I still can't believe it even when I say it! Being so busy has something to do with it, I'm sure. We took Tim, Jamie & Preston to the airport a week ago today after a two-week stay at our home. Here's a glimpse into those days . . .

Randy, his mother Helen, Tim & Preston, visiting at Granny's

Here's "KY-oh" (aka Kyle) and Preston at the 80 (our precious country getaway).

Tim, Jamie & Preston share a moment at Granny's.

Having a full house seriously limited my free time and thus my crafting opportunities, but sometimes it's just necessary (besides, I gotta get my fix, you know!) -- so I did manage a few fun things.

My nephew turned 18 - oh, I can't believe it! - so I had to make a special card for him. (He's not really my nephew, he's actually he's my cousin's son, but we're really close, he's always been 'nephew' to me.)

And I made a small makeup sized bag as a gift for a very special young lady. You know how some people just warm your heart? So it is with her. We got the most precious thank you note!

And finally, one of joys of summer. I don't recall another year when fresh fruit has been so plentiful and affordable! This was an exercise in patience -- I cleaned and prepared each fruit and froze the individual pieces before adding to the mix. There's pineapple, strawberries, peaches and blueberries. Judging from the way Randy swiped pieces each time he went through, I think I better get started on another batch of this!

Hope you have a blessed day wherever you are!

Pine Trees and Baby Gifts

We're here! But only at a temporary site at the moment. The site we chose to make our "home" didn't have water service yet when we arrived. Hopes are that the water issues will be resolved before the end of the week. The water and many, many other issues are continuing ghosts of the monstrous ice storm that ravished this area earlier this year. The damage is widespread and shocking. Literally everywhere you look.

Yesterday I took a walk to snap some photos. It's a challenge to stay out of the way of the work crews, so I walked up to the archery range. Right now attention is being focused on roads and campsites so this area is not a priority.

For whatever reason, it seems this hillside took a particular beating. There are standing trees in the background, however the trees you see in the foreground are not only downed but uprooted. Lots and lots of them, like a swath was taken right across that hillside.

But most shocking is that this kind of damage is not isolated. It's around every corner. The crews here are working ever so hard and making great progress but obviously it can't all be addressed. I can't imagine how many years it will take for nature to restore herself to previous splendor. Probably not in my lifetime!

Here's a typical roadside scene. This beautiful old cedar got a good pruning in order to clear the roadway. Behind is lots more that will lie, at least for the time being.

Nevertheless, the woods are coming to life with spring beauty and here are a couple of uplifting glimpses.

The thrilling beauty of rebirth . . .

So - enough camp talk! On to sewing . . .

Here are a couple more baby gift items from Lyndsay's shower that I promised I would show.

Diaper bag made for my mom to give (Daddy is a trucker, can you tell?!).

And here is a photo album that was my dad's gift.

Are you photo over-loaded?!

Hope your day is a good one!

Honorable Mention

It's been a while since I said it but THANKS once again to all of you kind folks who leave such sweet and inspiring comments for me. I am always touched that you lend me your attention.

Along those lines, I can't tell you how excited I was when I recently visited Paula Prass's blog Show & Tell to find I was featured there - it totally took my breath away!
Paula is a fabric designer for Michael Miller Fabrics and creator of the beautiful Flights of Fancy collection. Of all the lovely things being made with her fabrics, I am incredibly honored that she chose to include my magazine sized totes ("mag bags") on her blog. This was several days ago and I'm still reeling! To have a fabulous designer such as Paula recognize my humble work makes me feel as if I've been sprinkled with stardust.
Thank you Paula, what an honor!

Here are the featured bags.

And another, later creation from the same line.

Switching channels now, I got another little thrill this morning when I got see my quilt block stitched into place on one of the Project Improv quilt tops over at Jacquie's Tallgrass Prairie Studio. Jacquie and her helpers are working to transform these donated blocks into lovely work-of-art quilts for charity. I am so grateful for their hard work and proud to be a part of such a meaningful project. What a nice start to my day. :)
Can you find it? Center row, far right.

In the Sewing Room

As is my nature, I've started to panic this week. With less than three weeks until our departure and so much left to do, I've kept my head down and barely come up for air. There were a few distractions of course. Like yesterday. I spent a good part of my day with my dad who called on his newly installed phone, first to tell me how thrilled he was to have the phone then later to summon me over with his latest crisis of the moment. Of course, it wasn't really that serious but with my dad everything is top-priority, red alert! He's funny alright, in a high maintenance kind of way but you can't help but grin and love him, you couldn't find someone with a bigger heart. I mentioned my dad once before and his difficulties in dealing with life in general. Shortly after that my husband and I caught the movie "You, Me and Dupree" on tv. Boom, there he was! If you've seen that movie, Dupree is my dad! Totally. Only my dad is not 24, he's 69. Although, he thinks he's 24 . . .

Anyway, it was mid-afternoon before I finally got to my sewing room and I was panicked and frustrated that most of my day had disappeared. Nevertheless, I worked late and dear Randy provided carry-out dinner(!) so it turned out I got a lot done after all. I got a sample sewing parcel this week and here's what I've accomplished so far . . .

I was so excited to see Paula Prass's Flight of Fancy. The pattern provided was Amy Butler's In Town Bags. These were done in keeping with the drawstring bag pattern but I was instructed no drawstring. I did make it a little taller because the cuts given in the pattern would have chopped the fabric designs into oblivion. Actually it worked out well because the end result is the perfect size to carry a magazine. The 'mag bag' look is such a trend now.

And I had enough fabric left over from the totes that I was able to put together this Smart Bag off the same pattern. But that button which is only pinned on, has got to go. I'm seeing something large and filigree, preferably in silvertones and sparkle. I'll be heading down for a class tomorrow so I'll see what I can find at the store. I didn't have anything appropriate in my stash.



And last but not least here are chalice veils. They came out lovely, mostly due to the gorgeous fabrics of course.

Have a great weekend everyone. Don't forget to attend the church of your choice. If you don't have one, you can go with me! :)

I'll catch you soon!

Sweet Baby Lullabye

I've been anxious to post this one as I think it is just so darn cute. Meagan is the forever girlfriend of one my son's constant companions and very best since-childhood friends. Meagan asked me to do this set for her sister-in-law who is having a boy. You know, it's a special challenge to come up with something that is cute and fun but still boyish. When we talked I suggested the loopy-ribbon look and Meg loved that. She made a trip to Jackman's and came back with this stripe (by Timeless Treasures if anyone is interested) and a whole bag full of the most scrumptious ribbons. Those ribbons made the challenge much less daunting!

Here's the bag - XL to carry momma and sibling items as well.
This is my favorite part - what a touching sentiment, and most especially considering this is her sister-in-law. Isn't that sweet?! (Click in to get a better look.)


We also have a matching changing pad




. . . and a blankee.
It was fun to do these but I'm weary of bags. This may be the last bag I do for a long time. However there are still a few in the wings that I haven't shown yet, just waiting until the gifting dates are past. I've been doing some different projects lately and it's been a refreshing change. Quilting (my obsession of the moment) - oh, and yesterday I finally made a kitchen curtain for myself, I'll get pics of that soon.

And of course, I'm keeping an eye on the calendar as we continue to make arrangements to head off to Kentucky. Yesterday I officially became a cell phone owner. Yes, I know I am SO behind times. I should add here that my husband did provide me with one for emergencies but it was a pay-by-the-minute one and not something I actually used. Now I have a real one so will have to learn all the stuff that goes with it. I hope everyone has patience with me as I cut them off and don't know how to retrieve their messages!

On the subject of Kentucky, our friend Kathy with whom we will work this summer, sent me some photos this weekend of the cleanup progress at the campground. They have made a couple trips down there and here are photos from last week -

I don't think they went down this road, do you think?!

My heart goes out to those who are working so hard, I can't imagine how disheartening it would be to look at so much destruction and then think - where should we start?!

Have a good day, I'll be back soon.

Yippee Ki-Yi Yay!

Isn't that what John McClane (Bruce Willis) said in Die Hard? I know, I know, he added another word but nice girls don't say that. Here are a couple of cowgirl bags that I promised a good friend of mine.

Aren't those little "Rodeo Kids" adorable? (Click in to get a better look.) Both that and the bandana are Michael Miller prints.

I'm still working on photography skills, the color on this is a little off. That's actually a pretty red, not the tomatoey orange that it looks like here.

These are for Chris. Chris and her daughter Jordan are serious horse ladies. They show horses on a national level and regularly bring home trophies. I am so impressed. I love horses. When I was young my grandfather got ponies for my sister and me. I was in heaven, my sister not so much! Isn't it funny how siblings can be so different?! Linda is not at all an animal person (my other two sisters are). It's not that Linda dislikes animals, she loves Rusty -- or claims to at least! But I'm thinking she doesn't feel what I do inside, that draw that pulls you and makes you want to cuddle, nurture and protect anything that's furry. Some of you know what I'm talking about!

So while we are on the subject of adorable furry creatures I will share with you a Russell story. Not much of one, but something I found cute. Recently Russ and I were eating lunch alone and I was watching the noon news. Here I have to tell you that I do strange things when I'm alone -- like talk back to the tv, etc. So when they asked a question "how many of you have . . .", I raised my hand in the air. Rusty jumped up and darted off to the window to see who I was waving at. He moved from window to window before he finally looked back at me in bewilderment like "something is seriously wrong with you". Maybe there is. :)

Have a blessed day!

More Sewing and a You've-Gotta-Read-This!

Well . . . you know how one thing leads to another? You'll recall that my husband was so thoughtful to come up with the idea of getting me a nice camera for Christmas and one of my goals for this year is to learn about photography. Well, Amy over at Park City Girl shared that common goal and asked for any recommendations for on-line reading. Jackie, of Canton Village Quilt Works, suggested The Pioneer Woman Photography. If you have any interest in semi-serious photography you should check this out.

HOWEVER, here's your warning - don't visit unless you have some time because once you get there you won't get away soon. Ree Drummond is the "Pioneer Woman" and her blog is nothing short of AMAZING! Besides the photography info which is priceless (stunning photos too), there is cooking, home & garden and homeschooling -- but I can't even tell you about those because I clicked into her "wild tale of romance and cow manure" entitled Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. Now I'm no stranger to reading, I love a good novel -- but this is the best thing I have read in a long, long time! It is a chapter-by-chapter tale of how she met and fell in love with her husband. I am telling you, I can't come up for air. I'm on Chapter 29 and I'm dreading the moment I get to the last chapter. She is witty, hilarious and heartwarming. If you can spare the time and another "addiction", do click on the title above and link into her story. You will be so glad you did.
(She needs to write novels and I will definitely be in that waiting line!)

So with all that said, I will leave you with a few more Christmas items, previously made and completed but unable to show until now . . .





Three bags for very different interests . . .







It's hard to pick out the detail, can you see the distressed faux leather strung with pony beads?

Prairieland Pickers is a square dance club.

This looks pretty simple, but I designed and digitized that logo using a business card graphic as reference. Not rocket science but digitizing is its own art form; it takes a lot of learning and practice and I'm pleased that this came out as well as it did.

So that's all for now. Today I hope to finish a cute diaper bag I have underway. I also need to prepare for a weekend class at Jackman's which, the last I heard, was one seat from being filled to capacity! Mm, I'm having butterflies again.

Have a good day, wherever you are!

I know I've been neglecting my blogging . . .

and I have lots to say and show! But whew, I feel like I've been in a whirlwind. Actually I think it's a long lasting tornado that's been blowing through my life for the last 6 to 8 weeks. But I truly think that things are going to improve here shortly. Without going into a long narrative, here are a few things that have been consuming my time in recent days:

• we have moved and settled my dad into a new apt (this deserves a happy dance!)
• I taught two more classes at Jackman's (they were great - one filled to capacity!)
• I spent one day in the hospital for tests (excellent results)
• my sister Deb had the flu over the weekend
• Ashley went to the ER yesterday (tendonitis in her foot)
• Rusty had the flu over the weekend
• I think I am coming down with a cold
  

I have a full day ahead of me today too with appointments and travel, so I'm going to leave you with a few photos of Christmas gift projects.

A bag designed for cross-stitch supplies, it has a zippered vinyl pouch inside to keep threads neat and visible --

A friend requested this apron for her daughter -

Craft aprons for our nieces, ages 3 and 6.

Another niece -

Lots more to show but I won't overwhelm you in one post.

And speaking of posts - I've read and enjoyed several lately that addressed new resolutions. I have a few of my own (do I dare say one is a repeat - yikes!). I also copied one from someone else because I found it particularly enlightening. What are your resolutions? Maybe I can copy yours too! :)

Here's hoping your new year is progressing on a happy note!