Friday, May 30, 2008

As a Bee....

As I'm veeerrryyy slooowwwly working on my Ethnic Star, I have been pecking away at some other things,,,,I am done with the rug, and I love it!! How scrappy can you get? I am so glad I pulled it out and started over! It is flat now and the black-ish stripes just give it a little definition, don't ya think? And the outside has been calling my name, large cuts of lilacs make my kitchen table feel like a garden,,,
and cut roses fill a vase on my computer desk, and, oh....girls.... I think this must be what Heaven smells like?
Liberty was sick, running fevers, caughing, poor baby. It was just a bad nasty virus going around... so we took Elly home with us for the week, and had a ball with her! She had the three of us going non-stop. It is so wonderful to be able to have a "tag team" with the kids, I get worn out and pass her onto Auntie Leash, then she passes her onto Papa, then back to Granny, whew, time to rest!
The holiday weekend was wonderful, with cookouts and bar-b-q's and family and friends.

My prayers and thanks go out to all the families who have sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, who are fighting for our freedom, God bless us all!
lyn

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Cuttin' a Rug

Getting the strips together is the most time consuming part of the process. I started sewing them by hand while watching TV, and crocheting them as I went. Tread a needle, sew strips till the thread ran out, attach strip to the last one on the rug, crochet the strip, sew strips. I got a little rhythm going during Desparate Housewives and Dancing, and I added a black stripe to contain all the scrappiness of it all. (sorry about the rotten pic)Then, I got to really looking at it, and decided I could do better, and I had a major bump in the middle that I tried to stretch out, but it always came back. So, I gave up and ripped it out, started all over, and this time it is going so fast because I (finally) followed Finns advice and sewed the strips on the machine. And now look, even Cubby likes this one better! She can't wait till I leave it on the floor for good, she thinks I lay it down just for her.

In between, I tested a theory. I wanted to put a flannel backing on the Ethnic Star, but I wasn't sure how it would wash. I had visions of the flannel shrinking and getting so soft, and the front, not shrinking as much, so it would be wrinkled, puckered, and old looking,,, sounds wonderful to me. What a wonderful, warm, cozy effect that would be, right?

So I cut a square of flannel, and a square of cotton, put a simple grid on it, and bound it. Threw it in the washer and dryer, rubbing my hands together the whole time, thinking how clever I was, I was going to make this quilt look a hundred years old! Pleasure oozed out of my pores.
Until I pulled it out of the washer. It did not look a hundred years old, it did not have the wrinkled, softly aged look at all. It just had the puffy look of the 70's & 80's. I was so disappointed. I hung my head as I brought it up to show DD#3. I handed it to her and tried to explain that I had other theories we could test out......She didn't hear a word I said, she was squeeling with delight! "OH, That is exactly what I wanted!! Look how old that looks! It's perfect!!! Oh, Mom, I"m going to LOVE it! Thank you so much!" Needless to say, I (like any of you would have done,) pretended that was exactly what I wanted it to look like.

Why is it, I think the 80's are out of fashion, and now my daughter thinks of the 80's as "retro." Go figure...

Hope your day is wrinkled and sofly aged!

lyn

Friday, May 16, 2008

I am going to have to start a Support Group

I have neglected my family, my dogs, and I cannot concentrate at work, this drug is so powerful.
These habits need a stronger will than mine to be conquered. I need therapy and rehab. But it's not my fault...Blame the pusher!

That's right, you know who you are,,,finn!!!! (finn has a wonderful tutorial on her blog, she is so patient with us) You lured us into your trap so smoothly! You knew how addicting your drug was, and yet you taunted us all with your innocent looking crochet hook. All along, you were plotting to get us hooked, so you could laugh at us with your scraps!!! Well, your trick worked, I am hooked, and I know others who have fallen under your spell!
I am never going to be able to do another thing with my hands, I will grow old sewing strips together!

....What have we here??

ok, I might be able to put the strips down for just a moment ot two, but then I'm back to the guilty pleasure of ragging a rug.

Actually, this is not that far off, I am really loving this process!! I have loved rag rugs forever, and now I am addicted!

thank you, again, Finn, for the wonderful lessons!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, mine will be a little "ragged"

lyn

Ps: Carolyn at http://ohioquilter.blogspot.com/ has an awesome give away, go "dream" on her blog!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

We were off to see the Wizard!

The wonderful
"Wizard of Oz"

My "Good Little Witches", Elly and Liberty, were absolutely awed by Dorothy and Glenda, and after the play, they had to talk to all the characters.
I am soooo proud of our little town production of "The Wizard of Oz"
the witches flew like professionals! And even Toto remembered his lines.
Nobody gets paid, nobody gets awards, the ticket sales go toward keeping the little theater open, and all the actors get is a little bit of fame in the local paper.
Eight weeks of four-nights-a-week practice, grueling study of lines, sore throats from saying "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too" 26 times a day,
But, after the last bow, all the actors came down into the audience and signed autographs, posed with children so old fat grannies could take pictures, and were the picture of patience while the flash wouldn't go off,,,now THAT, my dear friends, is acting!
This is a sneak peak at my "Ethnic Star"
Can anyone guess who it's for?

I hope you all have a "Wicked" evening,,,

lyn

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Home again, Home again...

Jiggety Jig!!!!!

Mr. Wonderful and I went to Whiskey Creek just south of Scottville, MI. It is a lazy creek that is serene and beautiful and fresh,,,I can't type all the adjectives for this place. We found it by accident,
When we were first married, we planned a trip to Hawaii for our Honeymoon. Lo and behold, a "Club Package" was pitched to us, a condo club which cost about $1000 base fee and $57 a year dues. The package saved us about $3200 on the trip to Hawaii so we signed on the dotted line and figured we'd not pay the dues the next year, and still would have saved a bundle. After that trip, the next year we used the club to go to Cape Cod, then Long Island, then Stratford, then Aruba, then Orlando, and with each trip we saved at least $1200-5000! Never could we have been able to afford the trips without the club, since the airfare and everything was included.


But then, one year hit us pretty bad, I lost my youngest son, Mr. Wonderful had to have back surgery, developed neuropathy and had to retire, my job got downsized...Our heads were still spinning, we could not afford to go, and really didn't have the gumption to skip all over the globe, anyway.


The next Valentines day, I was looking for a little two day get away for us, and since Mr. Wonderful had just had foot surgery, we couldn't go far. On my club plan, I searched for a cabin. "Whiskey Creek Resort" came up, and with our club plan, it was only $10 a night, so I jumped on it, one of the luckiest things ever!

We bought a camper trailer, and we leave it up there all summer, so it is like a cabin in the woods, only with all the comforts of home, yet a getaway, with the trickling of the creek, birds, deer, turkeys, and no phone! We can still get Good Morning America, but the Mr. turns it off after the news, (wow, very different than his usual habits) and we cook desserts on the fire, and drink our coffee in the morning by the fire. There is a club house with an indoor pool, hot tub, little restaurant, and on the weekends they have a band, or bingo, or something. On one side of the resort, you can buy your own lot, like we did, or there is a campground, and little log cabins scattered all over. 655 acres of vacation.

And the smell of apple blossoms add to the headiness of the resort. It only rained one day, so we went to a little bookstore in town, and the owner had missed us over the winter! We spent the biggest part of the day there, sitting with our tea, and looking over magazines, and catching up with the computer.



So, we have had our little piece of heaven, up on a little hill, surrounded by trees, I've read a whole book this week, and now it is back to work, and I missed the kids, and of course, all of you's.

Happy Mother's Day to all of us tomorrow, may our hearts be filled to the brim with love and goodness!

I hope you all have your little piece of heaven,


lyn


Monday, May 5, 2008

Going,,,going,,,,

Almost gone! Mr.Wonderful and I are taking the RV up north to our very favorite little spot in the woods.
Here are the Ethnic prints I'm drooling over, I'm planning a wonderful suprise for my DD#3. The photo is not letting the yummi-ness show through, but I'll keep you updated on the progress.
These are going to be for my dear friend, Loydie, (short for Loydell, named after her father) and she is just as unique and special as her name.
Life is a "whirlwind" these days, so it will be a nice time to get the "wheels" on the road (sorry, I have fits of corny now and then)
These pin wheels are made from the generous gift of scraps from the generous and giving Finn, thank you, Finn!

Hope all your weeks are "deer" (geez, I am getting bad)
lyn

Thursday, May 1, 2008

May Day

Does anybody else remember "dancing around the May Pole"? Why did we do that? And I also remember making posey pockets and leaving them on our mother's door knobs on May Day. Why did we stop doing that?

I am grabbing the flag Norma at Random Stitches threw down on her post the other day, it looks like fun!

You have to use the first letter of your first name to answer each of the following. One word only. They have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME
Lyn

4 LETTER WORD
Love
(is there any other?)

VEHICLE
Lincoln
(I wish)

TV SHOW
Lucy
(showing my age)

CITY
Louisville
(hello, DD#1)

BOY NAME
Louis
(my grampa)

GIRL NAME
Liberty
(my grand daughter)

OCCUPATION
Librarian
(this is my dream job)

SOMETHING YOU WEAR
Lingerie
(with diamond necklaces :-)))

FOOD
Lobster
(dreaming of butter running down my forearms)

SOMETHING IN THE BATHROOM
Lotions
(tons of jams and jellys in there)

REASON FOR BEING LATE
Llama
(I hate when they break down on the highway)

SOMETHING YOU SHOUT
licketysplit!
(this was the hardest one!)

I'm going to challenge you all, (yes, you too) to do this one!

This was a good day to do this, because Blogger would not let me add any pictures. I got some new "ethnic" looking prints and you will love them, as soon as I can show them!

Hope all your Llamas are running good today!
Lyn