Odds and Ends

I had to take my machine in to have it looked at last week.   

The hands free system just quit working.

I LOVE my knee lifter!!

I just need it to function.

So they found the cable had frayed and they had to order a part.

I ended up having to haul out the 770.  

I sewed up some of the left over flannel I had into burp cloths.

I am trying to use up left over Minky

When I was in Berlin they had these loveys.

Theirs were Minky on both sides.

I find that too much to try to wrestle under control so I make one side flannel.

I bought some of their ribbon trim for around the outside.

It is not perfect, but it is finished!

Both the Minky and the flannel were left overs so it really only cost me the price of the trim!

I need to decide what to work on next. 

I'm in kind of a slump after finishing up 7 tops while in NC.

I have a TON of bindings to sew on but I really don't like doing that, LOL.

Since the quilts have no immediate home those will likely wait.

I'm thinking I need to cut out a few quilts so then when my car is in the shop next week I can just sew.

How is your January going so far?

~XOP~

Last Weeks In NC and Christmas

 We took Avery on the Santa train a few weeks before Christmas. 

 He loved the train ride!

He got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time.

His mom was worried he would be afraid, but he and I had been talking about Santa.

We got him a stuffed Rudolph, a book and PJs with a reindeer on it.

Then we got to watch the show together.

So he was super stoked to see Santa!

Just look at that smile!!!

I asked him what Santa was bringing him and he answered,

"a train"

No one had gotten him a train, so Amazon to the rescue!

I wanted to make something with Avery to gift his parents so one night when we were babysitting,

I brought over the paints and a canvas and we made this wreath!

The berries are his thumb prints.

I used a marker to do the bow and his name. 

I sprayed it with Modge Podge but it made the marker spread.

I wiped it off as best I could and waited for it to dry.

I did it over after that.

We also made salt dough feet ornaments, into reindeer.

These two...love to laugh together.

Chris and I made this Treats for Santa plate for Avery to set out on Christmas eve.

He and I baked some of those pre formed Christmas cookies to put on the plate.

He put out a cookie, some mild and a carrot.

First thing he did on Christmas morning was make a beeline to the plate.

The carrot was partially eaten, so he ate the rest of it; same with the cookie.

Chris and I made this one too, for our daughter to give to a friend.

On Christmas morning, after checking out his plate, he heard the new train that Santa brought.

He was thrilled!!!!

He sat right down and played with it.

First gift was a car carrier.

Second was another "big da" (truck)

Third was Magnatiles

He started to open it, realized what it was and tried to put the wrapping back on, pushed to toward me and said, "Not a da"  

LOL

We took a group photo after Christmas of the five of us.

Just a quick shot with me, my daughter and her son.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.

I wish you the Happiest, healthiest New Year.

~XOP~

December Finishes

 Chris went back to Mi and then flew to Phoenix for a church retreat.  

I'm hanging out here with the cats.  I turned the camper into my sewing room for the week. 

 I had bought some flannel remnants a long time ago. 

 I found a great pattern that I thought would work for the flannels. 

 Most were vehicles and some solids.  I 

cut them out, put them in a bag and promptly forgot about them, LOL.  

So when I was packing for the trip down here 

I gathered many of the projects up that I had cut out to try to finish.  

I added to them by one when I was down in Berlin.  

I have all but 2 of those finished now. 

 I started making the flannel construction quilt and realized that if I made just a few more blocks I could assemble another  small top from the left overs! 

 SCORE!

  I love when that happens. 

 So here are my 2 quilts.  

This is the little bonus quilt I was able to make.

It would be a great floor mat for a baby.

I plan to get them quilted upon my return to MI.

Another project I had was a Moda kit for this little fox.

There are three of these.

A fox, an owl and a raccoon.

I bought the kit for this one.

I love Annie Brady's patterns, very easy to follow.

These little kits gave ample fabric even if you made a cutting mistake!

I am so very pleased that I have been able to finish most of the tops that I brought with me.

I will be pushing to finish the final 2 I have cut out.

I woke up with a head cold today so we shall see how much I get done today.

~XOP~

 

Good Times

 I was in a mild fender bender last week.  

I went to back out of my parking space, going exceptionally slowly because there was a huge manhole-hole behind me, when a woman thought she could sneak behind me and get by. 

 It didn't work and since I was the one backing out it's considered my fault.  

Not much damage to either of the cars but a huge pain in the butt to have to deal with

 not to mention my high dedcutible, 

UGH! 

 I'm OK and so was she.  Cars can be fixed, right?

This was my bumper, only damage was on the driver's side.

When I finally got back to the camper after my errands and the accident, I sat down.

Cole came right over and snuggled into me.

Apparently he thought I needed the snuggles and a smooch!

It was kind of a harrowing day for me!

My kids were little the last time I was in an accident.

I slid into another car (on ice) as I was going around a corner.

Anyone doing the cracker swap on Instagram>

You fill a paper towel roll with sewing goodies (and maybe some candy)

then wrap it in a FQ.

I stuffed mine with 2 coordinating FQ and wrapped with 2.

I put in a set of the cool touch pins and some rotary blades.

I don't have my partner yet but I hope she will like what I chose.

Do you like this fabric?

All the other FQ coordinate with this one.

It's a fun and easy swap!

Sewing via FaceTime with my friend Kailie today.

Pics of my finish tomorrow or whenever there is no rain!!

~XOP~

Denim and Lace Quilt Top Finished

 I finished my Denim and Lace quilt top last month. 

I finally got some pics of the top.

It is so beautiful but a LOT of matching.

Thought I would share with all of you.

I started it when I was in Kansas City at the Reject Retreat this summer.

Mel and Kailie traded some LV fabrics with me.

This gave us all some additional variety.

I had someone helping me!

He is literally my shadow,

Chris bought fairy lights for outside.

We have been searching for these lights for the last 2 years and finally found them!!!

The pics don't really do the lights justice but they are so twinkly and beautiful.

We have them positioned in the woods behind the camper.

We will put them in the same position when we are home.

They should look great in the woods there too.

Leaving you with a shot of my best boy.

It's difficult to get great photos of a black cat but this one is pretty good.

~XOP~

The Drive Home, Looking Glass Falls

 Looking Glass Falls was so close to where we were staying during Thanksgiving we decided to stop there on our way back to Chapel Hill.

The falls were right near the road and easy to see.

We opted to get out and actually walked down to the river.

It was cold and we got a little wet taking pics, LOL.

This was looking in the opposite direction from the falls.

We stopped in Brevard and I saw this amazing dino.  

Had to get a pic near it.

They were all decked out in the town.

Loved this moose!

The next stop was at Lake Lure

We stopped at the Flower Bridge again.

Still beautiful

It was a great trip.

If you are ever near Brevard or the Pisgah Forest these are must see places!

~XOP~

More NC Fun Times and Thanksgiving

 We have been busy here in NC and the time is just flying by! .

 Chris and I packed up the truck and sent him back to MI for a week or so.  

He will be flying to Phoenix for a week for a church retreat then driving back here to finish out the year.  So let's catch up.

 We were driving and I spied 2 huge cotton fields. 

 I have never seen them in person and it was so beautiful. 

 Fabric seeds as it were, LOL.

Our eldest daughter came to NC to deliver a few peafowl to a farm here.

We all got to see her when she was here which was really nice. 

 Had a mini Thanksgiving at the camper with the whole crew. 

 She was heading back to the farm in Bullock to pick up a male peacock to use in her breeding.  

We got up early one morning and met her at the farm.  

I loved the teal peafowl, but she was taking home a purple male.  

She will have him for at least a year then return him to their farm.  

Some of her birds that I knew were at the farm.  

It was nice to see them again and very nice for the owners to give us a tour!

On the day before Thanksgiving we drove to the mountains to Brevard.

We got to spend it with our SIL's family

I made the stuffing and Chris cooked the turkey.

It was such a fun day and I'm happy that we were able to get some family pics.

It was us, BOTH of my SIL's grandmas, both of his brothers, his brother's wife, Nick's parents, Kelsey, Nick and of course Avery!

I love this little guy SO much!

Grammy, Pop, Papa, Gigi and Avery

I LOVE this pic of Kelsey, Nick and Avery!

It was such a fun day!

Hoping maybe we can make it a tradition going forward.

~XOP~

Cats and Things

 Finny was posing so nicely that I just had to get his pic today.

Last night before bed these 2 were co-opting my sewing space.

We were at Avery's the other day and he was taking the scooper off his lego truck.

He would say "help me".

Then Papa asked him if he was going to take it off again and this series of photos says it all.

Clearly the answer was YES

Silly papa!

I got a good photo of Cole showing how BIG he is now.

Amazing to think how far he has come from when he was ill.

For some reason this is Finny's favorite place to be, UGH.

We finally got Avery to actually enjoy jumping into the leaves.

It took some work but eventually he seemed to enjoy it.

He does love to snuggle with his papa.

I thought this photo of Finn turned out really well.

He is a gorgeous cat isn't he?

Kind of a mash up of pics but hope you enjoy these.

~XOP~