Monday Making

Merry Christmas to all my friends in blogland!

The quiet room here was only quiet for a little bit this morning.

It was soon FULL of FAMILY, laughter and FUN!!!

After my BIG day today....

I am READY to sit and stitch for a bit.

This spike stitch crochet afghan is ALMOST big enough.

And... you ask.....

How big IS big enough???

That's the million dollar question.

I've finally settled on twin size.

;)

I love all that beautiful color!!!

What are YOU making this week???

At this point you have a WHOLE year to make your Christmas gifts!!!

;)

Monday Making

It's time for a Monday Making party again!

Time has a way of  RACING when I want it to slow down.

;)

I have a busy week with some kids in town.....

YEAH!!!......

and lots of Christmas preparations STILL to be accomplished.

Thank goodness for amazon.

I can only DREAM about sewing this week.

I'll be doing a fair amount of cooking

and.....

While I sit and visit I'll probably be knitting.

'

Here's a block I made a while back

using Crazy Mom's pattern.

I love this Christmas tree!

And....... HERE's a precious girl!

ONE year old this week!!

Grandma is kinda proud.

:)

Link up and share about what YOU're making this week!

Friday Finish

Today I'm sharing with you this Friday finish!!

A little dress for my almost ONE year old

granddaughter!!!

The fabric is a nice piece of vintage cotton that I LOVE....

and the pattern is also an OLDIE but goodie!

I don't make many clothing items...

JUST simple ones like this.

Quilting comes much more naturally to me!

I like the IDEA of making clothes..

but more often than not....

I'm disappointed with the outcome!

;)

I also had some success in the kitchen this week.

Yeah!!!

Two "new to me" recipes.

The first is a Navajo taco.

I have great memories of traveling through Arizona

and stopping for this regional dish!

I found an excellent Youtube video on how to make the fry bread

HERE

I wouldn't call it healthy eating...

but it SURE WAS good!!!

AND...

Everyone enjoyed dinner!!!

I also got SUCKED into making these

after seeing a post on instagram.

(coconut brown butter cookies

by Smitten Kitchen)

DO you find yourself cooking new things

after seeing them on instagram or other

social network type places???

These cookies are ...I think....

the BEST I've ever eaten.

They begin with browning butter in a saucepan

and letting it cool before getting all the ingredients together.

WOW!!

THAT is the secret to GREAT cookies, I guess!

There you go.

A little sewing

and some NOT-so-healthy eating!!!

Monday Making

This week I pulled out some red and cream scraps.

The colors are seasonal and 

the scrap basket was calling my NAME!!!

I almost added green...

but these blocks seemed to be content as they were! 

 The applique was an afterthought.

The circles are from my can of leftovers.

I think they were just WAITING for this quilt to come along!!!

this is what I THOUGHT I was making....

A nice smallish baby quilt.

But...

this quilt had other plans!

I"ll need to make a few blocks

because now that the applique is in process...

I'm thinking the quilt needs to get even bigger!!!!

This quilt is being made using the "mushroom effect"!!!

:)

What are YOU making this week???

Monday Making

This week I'll be pulling out the Christmas quilts!

I'll put one or two on the walls....

And throw some on the sofa and beds!

I might even get a chance to QUILT one....

Well....I can DREAM anyway!!!

What are you making this week???

Sometimes the busy week gives us only time to

ENJOY the things we've ALREADY made!!

and....

 THAT's something to be thankful for!!!

Have a seat

I really enjoy improvisation!

It's a VERY freeing kind of quilting art!

I pieced this chair a while back

folded it up....

and FINALLY got it quilted.

Handquilted!!!

Yes...

It took quite a few SIT down sessions.

LOL!

The kitchen chair is one of my favorite places to perch!

We ALL know "the kitchen is the HEART of the home".

Is that true at your house too???

:)

Here I am trying to get GOOD shot!

Ha ha!!

I go outside in the morning before the sun's up...

I should say...before it's shining too bright!

What's your trick when it comes to photos???

Monday Making

I FINALLY finished this baby sweater.

(surprise baby jacket by E. Zimmerman)

Whew!!!

So many NEW twists and turns for me.

:)

I'm sure it would be easy for a seasoned knitter.

That's. not. me.

The seams are sewn.

The buttons are ON!!

And...

the COLD weather is here!!!

What are YOU making this week??

I really hope I can spend time in my sewing room!

The scrap basket is calling my name!!

Monday Making

At the end of a busy day 

I enjoy sitting down and working on something.

Recently THIS is what it's been.

Lots of pretty yarn

and rows and rows of crochet stitching!!

I do NOT need another afghan.

But...

I DO NEED this calm and peaceful project

at the end of my DAY!!!

:)

This afghan is made with the spike stitch.

A very simple stitch

that makes a simple afghan INTERESTING!

Now it's YOUR turn!!!

What are YOU making this week??

Monday Making

This week I'm going to do a little MINDLESS sewing.

I picked up a few Charity quilt kits from my guild this week

and look forward to doing some sewing WITHOUT thinking.

;)

There is a quilt to add quilting lines  and binding to.

There were these squares that just needed to be sewn together!

Looks like I need to move an orange square or two

over to the left!!!

LOL!

Photos always help me SEE the quilt a little bit better.

At least I got all the lines going the right way!!!

And then there are some strips to sew and cut.

Someone ELSE made all the fabric and pattern decisions.

All I have to do is SEW!!

And......

 that's JUST what I need this week.

What are you doing?

It's time for a MONDAY MAKING party again!

Housewarming

It was so nice to fit a little sewing project this week!

Whew!!!

Days and weeks FLY BY, don't they?

This little finish ended up in my niece's hands

when I realized she needed a little something

to WARM her first apartment!!

It's sure a GOOD thing I started those

"Christmas" gifts EARLY!!!

:)

Monday Making

This week...

I hope to make headway on a little Christmas sewing.

I LOVE practical gifts

and..... Potholders NEVER go out of style.

;)

PLUS we ALL know...

there are PLENTY of SCRAPS to choose from!!!

This one just needs some binding.

I've also been doing a little knitting.

It ALL began with that ball of yarn from the thrift store.

"What could I make from it??"

I spent some time with Elizabeth during my coffee break....

Now...I'm spending time with Lorilee on youtube.

I'm still trying to figure it out.

:/

Getting my BRAIN cells some exercise I guess.

It's called the baby surprise jacket.

I've also been making MEMORIES.

Here he is. My fourth child.

My first foster child.

My adopted son.

and....

A college senior ALREADY!!!!

Yesterday he was a wiggly little redhead

with TOO much energy!!!!

Today he's on the brink of adulthood.

(poor thing....LOL!)

We were able to make it to the last home game

and the seniors were recognized.

A proud Mama moment for sure!

O.K. Friends.

What are YOU making this week???

Monday Making

I made a little pumpkin table topper this week.

The colors are kind of a springy FALL combo..

don't you think??

I'll have to quilt and bind

this week.

Hopefully before FALL is over!

What are YOU making?

Link up and share.

Friday Finish

When my Mom said she'd like an armchair pincushion this week....

I hopped over to pinterest and looked around.

;)

It's so easy to find inspiration there!

I used ONLY the scraps

that were ON TOP of the other scraps!

I didn't have time to dig too deep.

The bottom piece is actually an orphan block.

I added a nine patch pincushion

and some little pockets.

There's a pocket for scissors

and a bigger pocket for thread scraps or something else!

Inspiration for this project came from Amy.

Hope you like it MOM!!!

**********

I'm not the only one who MAKES at my house.

These days, I have a nurse who works with my foster baby.

She WHIPPED this little beanie up

after I purchased a BEE costume for the little one.

Isn't it SWEET????

Those little antennae are simply AMAZING!

Monday Making

I traveled back in time...

 to my high school days this week

and did a little macrame!

Back in the day...

we had a class called ARTS and CRAFTS!

We learned how to macrame..

as well as 

Batik, Rug punch and Weave.

It was WONDERFUL!

This little plant hanger requires only ONE kind of knot.

Very simple.

My little baby "spider plant" now has a place to grow some roots.

What are YOU makers out there 

 MAKING????

Friday finish - quilts and cookies

I don't use this color combo very often....

but I DO like these reproduction fabrics...don't you??

You may notice they're not ALL reproductions.

I had to sneak some other stuff in there too!

My 2 1/2" drawer is FULL

and I needed to fill a few gaps.

Scrappy=Happy

This adds to my collection of table mats

for a spring retreat auction.

My goal is 12.

I am halfway there!!!

I am LOVING these little quilts!!

The weather is warm here...

but I also did some baking.

Don't you LOVE handwritten recipes???

They are so full of memories and LOVE.

This one was given to me a few years ago by 

my friend's young daughter.

It's a sweet memory of time together!!!

I hope pinterest and all the online recipe collections

never replace these handwritten GEMS!!!

Monday Making

I'm quilting and binding a quilt this week.

A quilt that SOMEONE ELSE pieced!!

My guild has a nice pile of Charity projects...

and this was ONE of them.

I am enjoying the FINISHING of this quilt!

Many hands make LIGHT work!!!  right???

And it's sure nice that this quilt is SOoooo pretty!!!

What are YOU making this week???

Sewing for the seasons

I've been busy getting ready for the holidays.

Ornaments and quilts.

I LOVE using my scraps!!

The little Christmas quilt also incorporates

some of the plaid shirts that I like to use.

When I realized I didn't have an October quilt....

I got BUSY!!

Teeny tiny 1 1/2" square triangles

became a little WELCOME mat

next to my pumpkins!!

This little quilt is 6" square.

After all that sewing....

I hung up an old friend!!

It's FUN to sew for the SEASONS!